Code Geass R3: The Empress's Wish cont
by He's Dangerous
Summary: The Fan-Fiction of an unfinished Fan-Fiction story! Thanks to FireIceWindEarth for making such a great story. First Fan-Fic.
1. 10 My Heart is Heavy

Well this is it! My first foray into the world of online Fan-Fiction. The boat has left the harbor and it's plain sailing (and eventual sinking) from here on out. Unfortunately my first story bears the mark of being unoriginal (see: copied) in the fact that it is someone elses story. Awhile back I was just skimming through the Lelouch/C.C. aisle when I spotted "Code Geass R3: The Empresses Wish". I've always loved Fan Fiction R3s and this one was just brilliant. However by the end of the prologue I realised something. It was only ten chapters (actually nine) and there was no way a story of this magnitude and scale could finish in that time. So I continued on, reading about the brilliant characters and stunning new universe...

And then FireIceWindEarth left a message about a failing laptop, writers block and the fading love for this brilliant anime.

So here it is, an unofficial continuation of an unofficial continuation, and my first story which I can only hope you will like and pray to myself that I will finish it. If you have read FIWE's story than you are of course welcome to make up your own ending to his spectacular work instead of mine, oh and of course reviews will be more than welcome as well as any mistakes I make will be pointed out. I only hope FIWE will like this as well.

(P.S. I would highly advise reading FIWE's story first as you won't have any idea as to what is going on or who is who).

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: My Heart is Heavy<strong>

The air sizzled with more than just the wafting smells of cooked meat and rotten garbage. The smell of anticipation hung in the atmosphere. The thrill and nervousness before a fight, a raid, a battle. It hummed around them, turned the night breeze into a humid miasma. But they kept their cool. They had done this dozens of times. Nearly all had been successful. Rarely had R.R.'s White Knights had to retreat. When they had to, all the reinforcements found were spent bullets, terrified soldiers and Britannian corpses.

As the rebels slipped through shadows down the dimly-lit streets the men at the sidewalk kebab stalls packed up and wheel-barrowed their way through alleys. Shops that were open 24/7 closed their shutters. As rats scurried down gutters an ancient church bell rang out against the silent dark. 12 tolls of the bell. And still the White Knights kept their backs to the wall and stayed to the shadows.

They finally arrived at the warehouse. It was a bleak and uninspired structure surrounded by the foul, ankle-high waters that swamped it. Half of the Kanagawa district was underwater following a tsunami 15 years before. No one in that time had bothered to clear it up. Half of the Tokyo settlement had been turned into a ghetto.

Hidden by overflowing skips and no moon the 8-man (and 4 women) team huddled together in the moist air hiding themselves as one big, looming shadow.

Barely two minutes had passed before a voice whispered;

"Where the fuck are they?"

The tension in the shadowy mass rose.

"Shut the fuck up Minato!" Roy whispered angrily, "Lucia and Raven know what they're doing."

"I can understand why Raven is taking out the sentries, but Lucia has no combat skills and not much training. She can barely attach a silencer, let alone shoot a gun!" said an angry Minato.

"Lucia has other skills," came the cold, calculating voice of R.R., "that she prefers to keep anonymous."

"If you mean slutting her way past every fuckin' soldier in the Empire than it isn't that anonymous!"

R.R.s head whipped around and his mauve eyes provided the only light in the pitch-black street. He stared at Minato until the young fool had to look away. R.R. almost wished he was emperor again just to get rid of idiots like him. Almost. But the pain of what he did…

_Never again, _he thought. _Never should I have to lie or hurt Nunnally again. And C.C…. _R.R. closed his eyes. Never again.

* * *

><p>The last sentry fell dead, his throat slit by a silent katana. Raven surveyed his work. Three dead and not a single cry out or action of resistance. Quick, silent and deadly. Just how he liked it. He turned to see Lucia finishing off the last one. He wasn't wearing night-vision goggles (he didn't need them with his eyesight) but he still couldn't see what she was doing to the sentry.<p>

The man was gazing up at her with awe. No, fear. He was spellbound with absolute terror. Just looking at the man filled Raven with a feeling of undeniable dread. Something… not human was happening to the man, something so horrifying that it could not be anything any normal human could do. Raven almost pitied him. He then turned his gaze towards the cold skin of Lucia. He looked at the woman he loved. And trembled.

* * *

><p>"Go to sleep," Lucia said with as much sympathy she could put into her voice.<p>

"Mother…"

"Go to sleep," Lucia said more firmly.

"I'm… sorry… mother…"

"Go rest with her. You are redeemed of your duties in life."

The man's heart finally gave out and he slumped to the floor, an empty shell of flesh. Lucia didn't like to have to do this work but if it meant sticking close to Raven then she would have taken out the entire Tokyo garrison to be by his side. She looked down at the dead sentry. She almost pitied him. Her Geass was so powerful that no human could resist the illusion of fear. Seeing all your demons and past mistakes come back to haunt you to your grave would be the worst feeling imaginable, she reasoned. But it was a potent and deadly weapon and it was her only protection against the vast and powerful Holy Britannian Empire. Well, Raven was protection as well.

She strolled across the roof of the warehouse with as much swagger and confidence as she could muster. Raven took in a sharp breath. She was so beautiful. He would protect her no matter the danger, no matter the cost. He would follow her to the ends of the Earth and across the stars. He would gladly die-

And then he saw something on another roof. He recognised a figure. And felt his dreams and hopes come crashing down around him.

"Hey there."

He looked down at Lucia. A ray of sunshine in this blackest of nights. She looked at him curiously.

"You look spooked," she said, "Like you've seen a ghost."

"Uh…" he said with some hesitation, "Well… um, it's nothing. Flash the all clear; I'm going to investigate the other rooftops."

She looked at him strangely before going off to collect the torch. With her back turned, Raven leaped to the next rooftop and the next. He shrank into the shadows.

"Who's there?" he asked the darkness.

"Oh come now Raven," came the darkness, "Don't you recognise your old friend Lycris?"

* * *

><p>Two flashes. Pause. Two flashes.<p>

"That's the signal," said R.R. from the other end of the street, "Let's move!"

They moved as one and silently ran down the street. But then as one, they stopped.

"Why have we stopped?" asked an angry Minato.

Roy tapped on R.R.s shoulder, "Why have we stopped sir?" he asked.

But R.R. didn't respond. He was frozen. Staring right at the middle of the street.

"Sir?" asked Roy.

R.R. was sweating. Cold sweat. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

For standing in the middle of the fully lit street, with strait-jacket and mischievous smile on her face, was C.C..

* * *

><p>"What are they doing?" Lucia whispered angrily to herself.<p>

They were just crouching there on the bloody sidewalk! If it wasn't for the balaclavas that they wore then she would be able to recognise every individual person with a gun. She momentarily forgot about where Raven might be as she studied the street, trying to find the reason for the sudden halt in operations.

There was nothing there.

"Running around with rats, my how you've ascended in life," said Lycris with a shark's smile.

"Why are you here?"

"I thought ravens were tougher than rats."

"Why are you here?" asked Raven again, more firmly.

Lycris looked at Raven down the end of his nose. "You should know why I'm here. Why have you not revealed the location of the rebel hideout yet?" he asked with some force.

"I never knew you took orders from Colonel Shimada…"

"I don't take orders from anyone!" seethed Lycris. He tried to relax his face. "Don't you remember? We've been best friends since the orphanage. So I believed that as a friend, you'd help us bring these rebels down!"

"I…" Raven tried to give a good explanation, "We… change locations every once in a while. They have safe houses all over the Tokyo region. By the time I get a good report about all their operations, we move to a new HQ."

Lycris stared at him, trying to work out whether it was a lie.

"Is it because of her?"

Raven looked up at Lycris. "What?" he said, trying to hide the fear.

"That green-haired bitch you've got, bringing in your rebel friends with a stupid torch."

Raven gulped, "No," he stated with cold steel in his voice, "None of them mean anything to me."

Lycris walked up to Raven's side and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"You're a bad liar. If we don't have the rebels in two weeks than I'll interrogate her myself," Lycris smiled with teeth to bright for the night. Secretly, he placed a small tracking device in Raven's pocket. "We'll see whose side you're really on," he added with a wink.

But as Lycris walked away, Raven called him back.

"What?"

Raven held up the tracking device.

"I am loyal," he said as he threw the tracker to the floor and ground it underfoot. And like the wind, Raven turned and left for the warehouse.

Lycris smiled, knowing he had placed a much smaller and unnoticeable tracker on Raven's shoulder. He put his finger to the small microphone at his ear.

"Shimada, we have him."

* * *

><p>"Sir?"<p>

R.R. turned his head around. Roy was looking at him strangely.

"Sir, why have we stopped?" he asked.

R.R. looked at him like he was mad. "Don't you see her?"

"See who?"

R.R. turned to look back at C.C., "C…"

But she was gone.

_What? Did she teleport? No, the street would ha__ve been lit up. Did she run off? Why didn't the others see her…?_

R.R. looked at his hands.

_Am I going mad?_

"Madder than you already are?" said C.C..

R.R. spun around.

But only the White Knights were there. Staring back at him.

"Uh…Sir…we should get off the street," Roy said, staring hard at R.R..

"What?" said R.R., "Oh…oh yes."

His amethyst eyes became cold and concentrated once again.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p>The last worker fell to his knees. Blood was pouring out his chest onto his hands. His blood.<p>

He couldn't hear anything. Not the echoes of final gunfire. Not the dying breathes of his friends. Not the last pumping beats of his heart.

Lucia saw the last enemy fall dead and let out a sigh of relief. You never knew when the tables turned in the middle of a battle. One minute control would be established and the next, gunshots and fire would scorch the barren walls and the screams of her comrades would echo through the night.

But everything was fine. She smiled. They had won.

_And now_, she thought, _to the victor_, _the spoils_.

Already Green, Red, Shinto, Minato and Roy were opening up a rather large crate with the words DO NOT OPEN written in big, bold letters. A massive metal panel was removed and the contents of the crate were revealed; Hundreds of much smaller metal boxes topped with foil laminate. Red tore one open and hundreds of basic assault ammunition clattered to the floor.

"Holy cow!" he said, "Check the other crates"

But Green was already ahead of him, breaking open another crate.

"This one is filled with ammo too," Green proclaimed, "There are another eleven crates like this, all three meters by three meters…there's enough ammunition here for the entire resistance and more!"

"Excellent!" said Lucia, turning around to see R.R. and Raven.

But, she noted uncomfortably, the two people she liked the most seemed to be the most troubled.

Raven was looking down at the ground, looking very troubled and kept looking away whenever someone made eye contact. It looked like he had a terrible secret that he couldn't share with anybody. _I'll just ask him late__r_, Lucia thought. R.R. however was different matter.

He looked mental. His eyes darted around, seeing things in shadows and starting at sudden sounds. His dusky hair was tangled and snarled together and his face was the palest she had ever seen him. She worried for him. He was the closest person she had ever had to a father, a friend. All her life she had lived on the streets. Fighting for food and shelter. Discovering chess. Bending her mind with strategy and tactics to raise her standing and wealth. Then she became known as the Black Queen. And then… he had arrived.

And now she was here.

Fighting a war against an empire she had no love for.

With two men she had nothing but love for.

But first she had to find out what was troubling them.

* * *

><p>R.R. saw Lucia coming towards him and almost did a double-take. No, it was Lucia.<p>

_Calm down_, he thought to himself, _calm the fuck down_,_ we're on mission and we need to wrap this up as quickly as possible_.

But he couldn't. He kept picturing her in his head. He remembered her still body in the capsule on Damocles.

And he remembered her very alive body when she first exited one.

"What's wrong?" Lucia asked with sudden firmness, "And don't give me any bullcrap about being fine. Everyone can see you're not."

R.R. looked at her. She was so similar to C.C.. He knew he would protect her from any threat or danger. Just because she reminded him of her…

She stared at him, genuinely concerned.

"I… don't worry about it," he said, "It won't affect the mission or the revolution."

"I worry that it will affect you," she replied, her cold, violet eyes trying to see into his head and read what was troubling him so much. He relented.

_My heart is heavy_, he thought. "It's because-" but he was cut off.

"THE ARMY'S HERE!" Shinto cried, "Along with Tactical Response Police!" Already VTOL craft could be heard in the distance, jet engines droning with impending doom.

"Fiona's coming with the Speeders!" shouted Roy, "Everyone, get outside!"

R.R. joined the mob of rebels as they charged towards the front entrance, a frantic panic as rats left a sinking ship. And all the while he could have sworn that yellow eyes watched him from the rafters.

* * *

><p>Phew! That's a wrap gentlemen! Now, how to figure out how to use ...<p>

Oh yes and I will invent anything that wasn't made clear in FIWE's story. For example; Havocs and Speeders next chapter...

I don't have a clue when the next chapter will be up. All depends on whether or not I'm allowed to keep this laptop. Bloody teachers...


	2. 11 Downpour

Unbelievable! I was expecting this to take me at least a week to do. But as soon as I logged on, I couldn't do anything else except write Chapter 11 (2). I had to change channel on the TV because I kept getting distracted by the death of a certain terrorist. This means that on May 2nd two epic things are delivered: The death of Bin Laden and the second chapter!

(P.S. Acronyms: TRP-Tactical Response Police, VTOL-Vertical Take-Off and Landing).

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: Downpour<strong>

"What the hell do you mean, you're attacking the rebels!" shouted Lycris at the top of his voice.

"I'm not attacking anything," said Shimada, quietly fuming in his chair, "This is Major Uesugi's fault."

"_Major _Uesugi? Why the hell haven't you ordered him to stand down!" cried an incredulous Lycris.

"Because he's already fled the country."

"What?"

"Apparently Major Uesugi not only held the position as one of the commanders of the Tokyo Garrison but also as its biggest drug lord," said Colonel Shimada, looking like he would split at the seams with rage.

"Drug lord…" said Lycris as it began to dawn on him what must have happened.

"The White Knights attacked an army warehouse half-filled with ammunition and the other half filled with Refrain. Apparently Major Uesugi used his position to control the flow of drugs in the city. He kept the security of his dealings with the drug barons so well hidden that internal affairs found nothing dirty. He forgot about a certain rebellion though…"

"So why can't you call his men off? Even they have to obey orders from higher ranks!"

"Unfortunately it's not that simple," fumed Shimada, "In the fact that they're all probably as crooked as he is. After all, who are the people you wouldn't expect to deal drugs? The cops of course. And they probably sold it to the idiots under Uesugi's command. If they were caught with any illegal drugs they would be executed. So every Britannian soldier or policeman with a trace of dirt in this city is going to come down on that warehouse like a hammer."

Lycris grimaced. This was the worst possible scenario. They needed to get all the rebels together with enough evidence to execute them, not have only a handful dead. Uesugi would pay for his idiocy.

"How did you find out?" he asked Shimada with a level of suspicion.

Shimada looked at him like he had been accused of killing the emperor.

"I have men in every police station and barracks in this city," he said evenly, "So that we can get whatever information we can out of this mission. My man at the Chigasaki Police Station said that several sections of the TRP were ordered by Major Uesugi to destroy a warehouse in Kanagawa and kill all survivors of its demolition. I then contacted the nearby barracks to ask about his orders but he and a company sized force had already left."

Lycris almost screamed with anger, "Then get our soldiers to wipe them out before the rebels are killed!"

This was the point that made Shimada so angry, "We can't."

"Why the hell not!"

"Just think about it," said Shimada, "Just imagine the rebels telling jokes about how the Britannians killed off their own troops so rebels could get away. The rebellion would swell, Britannian morale would drop and the rebels would be even more suspicious of why we saved them. It would be ten times harder to catch them."

"So they have to escape by themselves?" asked Lycris incredulously.

"Yes. Don't worry, Uesugi will get his just deserves. We just have to wait and watch this one out."

"Shit!" shouted Lycris with all the spite he could muster, "What's bearing down on them?"

"Four VTOL transport craft, about two-hundred and fifty men as well as…"

"What?"

"A Havoc."

"Shit."

"Don't worry," said General Natsume from his large chair at the back of the room, "Look," he pointed at the large screen in the middle of a bunch of smaller ones. It was a satellite view of the area. There were several sleek shapes racing towards the rebels.

"What are those?" asked Lycris.

"Speeders. Rebel attack bikes."

* * *

><p>As the crowd of gun-toting rebels exited the warehouse, it began to rain.<p>

First, a pitter-patter of droplets and then, a downpour. Thunder roared out of the sky.

But a different kind of thunder was coming.

"We've got to move!" cried R.R. over the monstrous rainfall, "The rain will help us escape!"

"Split up!" shouted Roy, "They can't track us all! Go to the different safe houses like we planned!"

The VTOLs roared overhead and machine-gun fire raked the ground, splitting the rain and shattering the asphalt. The rebels split and ran for the alleys that would hide most of the fire.

"They're dropping troops!" cried Lucia, "Where are those Speeders!"

As if in response, the Speeders arrived. They opened fire on the drop troops forcing them to take cover while the rebels ran to the motorbikes. R.R. noticed that all but one was unmanned.

Fiona was the only person on a speeder and saw the look of confusion on R.R.s face.

"My father is remote-controlling the others back at the base!" she shouted over the gunfire and thunder, "Now get on!"

R.R. checked around. Lucia and Raven were getting on one together while Roy and Shinto got on another. Everyone would get on one or they would die. This was a world of survival. Dog eat dog. R.R. got on. But just before they revved off he thought he saw a silhouette atop the warehouse watching down at them.

But before he could get a better look, a Havoc got in the way.

* * *

><p>It was about the size of a bus and was nothing if not built for war. The infernal machine mostly represented a crab but it was the most horrific crab you would ever see. Three legs on either side were covered in hooks and spikes to traverse the most difficult terrain while two arms with short claws on the end could turn over a tank or rip it open. It was blood-red in colour and there was a panel on the back of the body which could open to reveal forty-two heavy-penetrating, high-explosive missiles as long as your arm. There were no guns and no ejection system: It was designed to devastate and massacre before eventually keeling over and dying. The only people who piloted Havocs were either desperate or psychotic and R.R. didn't fancy finding out which one was in this machine.<p>

"FIONA! HIT IT!" he cried at the top of his voice.

They sped down the road with the machine close behind. The Havoc was surprisingly quick thanks to helium cells in its legs and arms which helped propel it forward and allowed it to float a little when leaping. Most of the machines weight was counteracted by this excellent design.

But the Speeders were quick as well and Fiona put all her energy into making the motorbike go faster. The Havoc began to drop behind.

"We're losing him!" cried Fiona in adulation of her own motoring skills.

But R.R. noticed something. Through the rain and darkness he saw a; "Roadblock!" he cried.

Fiona, with the skill of a prime motorist, managed to turn the speeding vehicle to the right and shot down a narrow alley before they could smash into the police.

"Let's see them follow me down here!" she shouted with joy.

But unfortunately that's just what they did. The Havoc hadn't given up and smashed through the brick and metal walls of the alley before climbing up one of them. From the wall it continued its unstoppable pursuit.

"How the fuck do we get this spider off us?" shouted R.R. as the metallic monstrosity chased them down the alleyway.

"Here!" said Fiona and passed back a strange looking gun, "My father's test model!"

"What is it?"

"Portable VARIS!"

_The VARIS__?_ thought R.R., _The Lancelot's weapon has evolved to this?_

R.R. swung around on his seat and aimed the destructive pistol at the approaching crab-machine. _Here goes nothing_, he thought. He pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Instead, the gun rapidly heated up and R.R. let out a yelp of pain and dropped it. As the Havoc scaled the wall above the VARIS, the gun exploded.

A bright green light enveloped the alley, vaporising the rain to steam and tearing apart the walls in a glorifying explosion. R.R. shielded his eyes as the Speeder screamed down the alley.

"What happened?" shouted Fiona.

"Your gun almost exploded in my hand, that's what happened!" R.R. shouted back angrily.

"Well it was a test model! Is the Havoc dead?"

R.R. looked back down the alley.

"You have got to be kidding me…"

The Havoc was running across the wall, still after them. It was charred and missing a leg but was still chasing them with an almost fanatical hunger.

"Well at least we only have seven limbs to deal with now…" R.R. said bitterly.

"What?"

"The Havoc's still after us!" R.R. shouted, "We've got to change direction!"

"Uh, kind of a problem with that!"

"What did you say?"

"LOOK AHEAD!" screamed Fiona.

The alleyway had come to an end. A ten story building was just sat there, windows menacingly mocking them like yellow eyes.

_Yellow eyes_… thought R.R.

"Watch this!" cried Fiona, "Actually, keep your head down!"

She pushed a button on the handle bars and jets on the side of the bike exploded into action as the vehicle was lifted off the ground. Wings spread out and the Speeder zoomed towards a window.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !" R.R. cried as they crashed into the window.

* * *

><p>The wings couldn't fit and so shattered on the wall outside the building. The bike kept going however and broke through the window. Fiona and R.R. kept their heads down as the bike smashed through glass and walls before crashing through the other side of the building. As they touched down Fiona managed to pull off a minor miracle and kept the bike stable and on two wheels.<p>

She braked hard and they almost overturned into the road. They panted hard, the exertion of their trip having almost killed them. Fiona shook her hair of the debris.

"Did… we… lose it?" she asked between breaths.

Her question was answered when the Havoc tore apart the wall of the building and came rumbling out onto the street. It stood still as the building crumbled behind it and it seemed to almost glare at the two rebels.

"I think we better move…" whispered R.R., not really knowing why he was whispering.

Fiona revved the engine.

The Havoc tensed its legs.

The rain fell around them.

And like a bullet out of a gun the Speeder shot down the street, as fast as it could go. R.R. turned his head to look at the Havoc.

"Fiona."

"What?"

"It's not moving."

The Havoc sat there, watching them go. It dawned on R.R. what was going to happen.

"Fiona! It's going to launch a FULL SCALE ATTACK!" But it was too late.

Panels on the back of the Havoc slid away, revealing a very deadly cargo.

As one, forty-two missiles, each designed to take out a tank, launched and rocketed towards the Speeder. Thunder clapped as trails of smoke poured out the ends.

Fiona cried, missiles screamed and lightning arced overhead.

* * *

><p>R.R. woke up.<p>

The street was on fire. Wreckage and debris was strewn across the landscape. He couldn't see well but that was probably because his right eye was missing. He could see it with his left; it was on a bloody piece of stone on the ground. Most of his nerve endings had been burned away. But already his immortal body was busy repairing them and the ones that weren't dead were screaming with pain. He tried to scream himself, but found that his throat was still being repaired.

_Where… where's Fiona… Roy… Jeremiah… Kallen… Suzaku… __Nunnally__… __Lucia…_

And then a figure appeared out of the smoke and dust, like an angel descending from heaven to save, or to destroy.

_C.C…_

"Why are you on your back Lelouch?" C.C. asked.

_I…_

She kneeled and looked down at him.

"Why do you persist in these pointless battles?" C.C. asked.

_C.C…_

"The man who once was king could still be the man who will be king," she smiled.

R.R. smiled back. And finding that his eyelids were working again, he blinked. A different figure was standing over him.

"R.R.?" asked Jeremiah, "Your highness, we need to go now! We destroyed the Havoc but if the others find you healing and muttering about Lady C.C. then you'll be revealed!"

_Where… where is she…?_

"Fiona is alright but we need to head to our mountain base at Narita, Tokyo's too hot at the moment…"

"Where… is… she…?" R.R. slurred, finding his voice.

"Fiona? She's on her way to Narita along with Roy and the rest-"

"Where is she? Where is C.C.!" R.R. cried in desperation.

Jeremiah gripped R.R.s shoulders firmly, "Your majesty, Lady C.C. is dead! I checked for a pulse and there was none! She accompanied you in the capsule! Her body rests in Damocles! She is no longer with the living and hasn't been for the past 300 years!"

R.R. screamed. It was a cry of agony, torment, denial. He cursed the stars, the empire, the rebellion and most of all, he cursed his pathetic, never-ending life.

* * *

><p>Note on the intro: It's not that I like the death of Osama but it's that I prefer that he's dead than alive… damn it, I'm turning into Kira…<p>

I really don't know when the next Chapter will be up, but probably by the end of the week. I hope you like the story so far!


	3. 12 Welcome to the Jungle

I really am on a roll: Three chapters in three days. Albeit this one is a bit short and you'll have to wait till the weekend for the next, but still I feel like I just can't stop writing (as well as not being able to stop listening to 'The Man Who Would Be King' (Iron Maiden) and Shinigami World A & B (Death Note OST I & II)). And as sad as it is, the holiday is over. School and narcissistic classmates here I come!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: Welcome to the Jungle<strong>

The road to the Narita airstrip was pretty much covered with jungle. After the famous Battle of Narita over 300 years ago between the Black Knights and Britannia the whole landslide area had been planted with flowers as a mass memorial. However, flowers grow after some time and so the once beautiful memorial had turned into a sweltering rainforest. Even the old forest of oaks and birch had been taken over by the growing families of beech and cedar that swamped the mountains and covered it with a beautiful mist. But that was perfect if you were trying to avoid detection from an empire that controlled half the world.

Lucia struggled to sleep as the SUV hit another pothole. The sun was coming up in the east and they had been driving all night without a chance for a rest. Bumpy roads, the exhaustion after adrenaline and worry for what had happened at the warehouse kept everyone awake.

Lucia tried to distract her thoughts from where R.R. might be to where they were going. Apparently a makeshift airstrip had been built three centuries ago in the mountains to fly in all the seeds for the memorial garden. After the mass plantation it was realised that the airstrip was in an excellent strategic position and so two hangers and a small control tower were built. But the encroaching forest and world peace meant the military strip had to be decommissioned. A couple of hundred years ago Jeremiah found it and started to resurrect the old base as well as rediscovering the tunnel systems once used by the Japan Liberation Front. Now it was a backup base, with half of it underground with a traditional Japanese house built in the shadows of the tallest mountain for the top officers.

But, as usual, her thoughts wondered. First she thought back to the battle at the warehouse and wondered how the Britannians had arrived so quickly. Had an officer heard the shots and called for help? Had a worker hidden away and contacted backup? Or was there a traitor…?

She tried not to think hard about that and so her mind wondered back (as it always did) to Raven. She looked at him in the rear-view mirror. He had somehow gotten asleep but still managed to look as glum as he always did. She smiled, wondering how he could dream so easily with all that was going on. Something was up with him and she swore she would find out what it was as soon as she had gone to bed for twelve hours. But thinking about warm beds didn't help much and so her mind wondered to R.R..

The last bit of news she had heard was that Jeremiah had found him alive and well and they were heading to the mountains later. Unfortunately Fiona's legs had been shattered by the Havoc's attack. It wasn't likely she would walk again. But R.R. seemed to be in an almost worse state. Shinto and Minato were already spreading rumours about R.R. hallucinating. There was even talk about him being on Refrain. Lucia hoped that wasn't the case. She had seen people hooked on that stuff until death from overdose. R.R. seemed smarter than that and hoped the Miyogi brothers were just spreading dissention to gain attention. She doubted that Jeremiah would stand for that.

"About ten minutes till we get there," Roy yawned beside her.

Lucia looked at Roy. He was utterly loyal to Empress Lilia and even seemed to have feelings for her. He was an excellent fighter but didn't seem to contain the brains of R.R. or Raven and if there was ever a traitor in the rebellion, he would be the last possible person it could be.

Minato, who was staring wearingly out the window, seemed a lot less trustworthy. He and his brother were as thick as thieves and were probably thieves in every literal sense. Apparently, missing equipment was always under the brother's protection when it disappeared. Add to the fact that they were still smarting over Jeremiah's decision to make R.R. his second-in-command and these two (or one of them at least) could be traitors.

_I must be really__ tired_, thought Lucia, _If I'__m believing in traitors_. _No-one would __dare __betray this rebellion._

She looked at Raven again and smiled.

_No-one_.

* * *

><p>When they arrived at the shrubbery-filled airstrip, a figure awaited them. Lucia smiled as she got out the truck.<p>

"Commander Jeremiah," proclaimed Lucia, "How did you get here before us?"

Jeremiah smiled as the jeeps unloaded their passengers, "We had an emergency teleportation pad at one of the safe houses; we set a bomb, relocated to Damocles and then relocated here before it even went off.

Lucia smiled with sudden realisation, "Is R.R. here?" she asked cheerfully.

She thought she saw a flash of anxiety in Jeremiah's eyes.

"Yes," he said, "But a high-speed chase, an explosion and two teleportations is enough to knock the wind out of anybody; he's sleeping at the moment."

"Lucky him," grumbled Lucia.

"Where's Fiona?" asked Jeremiah

"Oh!" gasped Lucia, "We need to get her to the infirmary quickly!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, under the shadow of the mountain, in the large old-fashioned Japanese house, behind sliding doors and cedar wood, R.R. was as awake as can be. He lay on the king-sized bed, curled up like a baby. He was totally alone in the room.<p>

"A gentleman would sleep on the floor."

He put his hands over his head.

"How idealistic."

He started to sob.

"If you have a reason for living, then you have to kill me."

"No…" moaned R.R., "You're in my head! You've said this all before!"

He opened his eyes.

She lay beside him.

"Why do you deny my existence?" she asked.

"I saw you die in front of me. You gave me your curse of eternal life."

She smiled guiltily, "Living forever with your death in my mind was the worst fate I could imagine. I was selfish."

R.R. wept. The Daemon cried while the Witch looked on with pitying eyes.

"You are dead!" cried R.R. "Why do you torment me?"

She looked at him, her eyes so deep and beautiful.

"You are dead!" R.R. cried again, "You are not real! Your body is aboard Damocles!"

"Are you sure?" she asked, smiling with sin, "If I'm not real, then who's to say that I'm aboard Damocles?"

R.R. looked at her then, a long deep look into someone that could not possibly be there, yet had the eyes of a 700 year-old woman.

"Please…" he muttered, "Go away…"

She got off the bed and walked to the sliding door, but turned her head around once more.

"Lelouch."

"…C.C."

"Welcome to the Jungle. If you're not tough enough to survive then you'll never get out."

The sliding door never moved. But twenty minutes later, when R.R. waved his hand over his other arm for a communication, she was gone.

"Benny?"

"Wha… hey… um, who is this?" came a sleepy voice at the other end.

"This is R.R."

"Oh shi-" came the now rushed voice, "Um, uh, Second-in-Command R.R.! How may I help you?"

"Benny, I need a favour, no two favours."

"TWO!" cried Benny in his exasperatingly dramatic voice, "You still owe me a pudding!"

R.R. didn't have time for this, "Listen! I'd rather only you and I knew about this."

"Oh… you mean Jeremiah, Roy and the rest aren't to know?"

"Precisely."

"Hmm… I'm listening."

_Benny can be serious when he wants to_, thought R.R.

"Are you still on the Damocles?"

"Well yesssss of course I am!"

"Well then listen closely…"

* * *

><p>"You leaving yet Colonel?" asked General Natsume.<p>

"No sir, it looks like I'm going to be pulling an all-nighter to track down Uesugi," replied Shimada.

The general and his second-in-command worked closely together. They'd been through three wars together, including the conquest of Japan and they had always had each other's backs. Having a brash, arrogant asshole like Lycris in their command centre had pulled them closer together in the mission to stamp out the rebels. Brothers in arms against idiots in charge.

"Good luck with that," the General said as he left the large room to return home.

Shimada continued tapping away for another five minutes before checking that there were no bugs in the room and that everyone else had gone home. He then activated his NCLRC and typed in a number unknown to anyone else in the world.

"Passcode Required," came the automated voice on the other side.

"Less than one," replied Colonel Shimada.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in Pendragon someone received an anonymous bluetooth call.

There was silence.

"Uh…" Shimada began, "Zero?

"Yes?" came the reply from the Emperor's right-hand man.

"This is Colonel Shimada, I've located the rebel base," he said with enthusiasm, "It is located in the Narita Mountains, a forgotten airstrip and a cave system."

"Yes…?"

"Well, uh," Shimada was momentarily caught off-guard, "Should I tell the General?"

"You can if you want to," said Zero, "But the Emperor and I already knew about the rebel base."

"You did?" Shimada responded, quite shocked.

"Yes, because we have an informant in their ranks."

"Code-Name Raven sir?"

"No. Someone much better."

Shimada was shocked: How much did the Emperor know about these rebels? Why did he even care?

Zero continued, "We have also identified every member of the rebellion and know each of their ranks."

Shimada gasped.

"And right now we have assassins heading there to wipe out everyone."

* * *

><p>Raven sat on his bed, drinking orange juice.<p>

_What should I do! _He shouted inside himself, _Should I betray everyone? Should I fight with the rebels? Lucia…_

_Damn! If everyone was handed in, they might spare her… but she would never look at me again. If I continue fighting with the rebels, then they'd eventually be crushed. Britannia is unstoppable._

_Run away with her? R.R. is like a father to her. Would she give up on the rebels just to come with me? What is she even fighting for?_

_What am I fighting for?_

_Money?_

_Respect?_

_Love…?_

He threw the carton at the wall in frustration. He couldn't think of a way out.

_If R.R. was dead… then Lucia would have no reason to be in the rebellion. Besides me._

He put his hands in his head. _What am I thinking? That I would betray the rebellion for my own gain… well I'm doing it already__... NO! I will not kill anyone involved__!_

_But one day you'll have to make that choice._

He only noticed that someone was outside his door when there was a knock.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Me," came Lucia's voice.

"Come in."

The door slid open and Raven gasped.

She wore a plain Yukata robe with a traditional Japanese hairstyle, her hair held up by an ogi-bira kanzashi. Her fingers were covered with rings which were studded with jewels. She saw his expression and grinned. She twirled around proudly, "Whaddaya think?" she beamed, "I just found all this lying around the place!" she pointed at her jewels, "I think these are pretty fake but they're still beautiful…"

"Beautiful…" said Raven whimsically, still staring at her.

She smiled and looked at him. He felt his heart go to his throat as she sat beside him.

"What's the matter?" she asked him, "You looked worried at the warehouse."

"I…" Raven remembered Lycris' warning and his threat, "It's nothing."

"Liar."

"It was the nervousness of the battle."

"Double-liar. You never get nervous."

"I… a month ago… you said… you loved me."

She stared hard at him, barely able to breathe, "Yes?"

"Well I…" but before he could finish she placed a finger on his lips.

"Save it for a more dramatic moment," she whispered. And she kissed him.

When she pulled her head away she had to laugh at his expression. He looked like a rabbit caught in the high-beams. Positively spellbound.

He struggled to find words, "I, um, well that… was… um…"

"I hadn't finished yet," she smirked, and almost leapt at him in her eagerness.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile at the bottom of the mountain, at the end of the jungle, a pitch-black SUV crawled as close as it dared to the edge of the forest. It didn't have any headlights on. It didn't need them as the occupants eyes could see in the dark much easier than they could see in the light.<p>

Four men got out. Each was a disciple of the formidable Ninjutsu "Ninja" school of martial arts and they had killed at least 20 men, each. They were invisible in the dark and only the moonlight reflecting off their assortment of blades and sharp weapons gave any indication someone was there. But all such weapons were hidden in sheaths, pockets and spring-loaded launchers under their arms.

"Weasel, stay here and wait two hours. Then light the forest up."

"Understood Crane."

"Hyena, Grid, let's go."

"Understood Crane."

"Remember guys, no-one leaves these mountains alive."

And like the coming night, three shadows crept into the jungle as silent as mist.

And, unknown to them, a woman with golden eyes and green hair watched every move they made.

* * *

><p>Ooooh, cliff-hanger much? I'll try on making each chapter at least 2,300 words now. Until next time!<p>

(P.S. Note on the title: I've just found out that Guns'n'Roses released a song called 'Welcome to the Jungle"! I had no idea! I just named it after an excellent Fight Night Champion trophy… I'm blabbing, so good-night!).


	4. 13 The Shadows of Killers

I finally finish the epic thirteenth chapter! Phew! Hope you all like it!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13: The Shadows of Killers<strong>

They crept through the jungle, unseen and unknown, to the sound of their own breathing. There was complete silence in the dark of the night and that's how they liked it. There would be death tonight and if everything went to plan, no-one would even know they existed. But the odds were still stacked heavily against them and they would need every moment of artful silence and perfect darkness to survive. Good for them then, that night had arrived.

* * *

><p>"Helloooooo?"<p>

R.R. stirred. There was a really annoying voice in his head.

"Are. You. Asleep?"

R.R. opened one eye. He tried to locate the person talking to him before realising it was Benny.

"Well I was until you woke me up with all the grace of a foghorn."

"What's a foghorn?"

"It was a… never mind," came R.R.s weary reply.

"Well _anyway_ I was good on those two favours, if you wanted to know."

R.R. sat up straight. He needed to hear this.

"Well?" he asked plainly.

"As per your second request, a box of the stuff should be headed your way about now…"

There was a quick flash of light and a small box materialised on the floor.

"That was quick."

"Well a guy I've got under suspension knew some people and all I had to do was threaten him with dropping him off the Damocles. The cheeky sod even said _Call me if you need a supply of the stuff_."

"What did you do?"

"I dropped him off the Damocles."

R.R. smiled at that but his thoughts were cut off.

"-Listen R.R., I really don't like what you're doing, especially without Jeremiah or Roy knowing…"

"Let me worry about them," R.R. snapped, "What about my other request?"

"Well, in your inquiry about a corpse in the 'Secret Weapon' room I have to say…"

R.R. held his breath.

"…the results are negative."

R.R. almost died of fright.

"NEGATIVE?" he screeched, "What the hell do you mean by negative?"

"I mean as in there was _no dead body_!"

"The capsule! You checked around the capsule and in it?"

"Of course! No-one can get in that room except me or Princess Lilia so this supposed cadaver couldn't have been cleared away, as well as the fact you were the only one in it…"

R.R. froze, "What do you mean I was the only one in it?"

Benny responded with an answer that shocked R.R. to the core:

"_YOU WERE THE ONLY PERSON IN THAT CAPSULE!"_

"Bullshit!" roared R.R., "C.C. was in there! I know it!"

"…I'm sorry, but you're wrong."

R.R. tried to make sense of what was happening. How could this be? How could C.C. not be there? Was he going mad?

Had he been hallucinating?

Had C.C. even died?

_No_!he thought to himself, _C.C. definitely died! I saw her die in front of me! Her Geass mark was gone! She gave her life to __lengthen mine__! Who else saw…?_

"Empress Lilia!" R.R. said triumphantly, "When she came to get me, she saw C.C., I swear it! She even asked who she was!"

He could hear Benny tapping away at his computer.

"Well, apparently," he said, "Her report says otherwise…"

R.R.s blood turned to ice.

"… and I quote; _'I remember R.R. being quite strange. He seemed to be muttering under his breath and looking back at the capsule. It was like he thought he had left something behind…_"

"Bullshit," whispered R.R.

"Well that's what it says here," Benny said with a hint of annoyance, "And I don't like doubting the Empress's official report."

R.R. was shaken up.

"Thanks Benny," he said shakily.

"Don't come asking for anymore favours," huffed Benny and he cut off the transmission.

R.R. sat on the bed for a while, before staggering over to the box on the floor. With shaky hands, he opened it.

Along with a piece of injection equipment, there was vial upon vial of Refrain.

* * *

><p>"What is this place?" asked an awed Lelouch.<p>

Three men stood in the cavern, a massive chamber filled with rock and ruin. Skeletons and pieces of flotsam and jetsam were strewn around the extraordinary expanse. It looked like an ancient battle had taken place here and one side hadn't stood a chance. Lelouch peered at some of the bones and black patches that were once blood.

"These are the skeletons of children," he whispered. Whoever had won this fight must have been an awe-inspiring man.

"This was once a coven, a research lab. They experimented on children and civilians," came the voice of his greatest general and bodyguard, Zero.

"Who owned it?" asked Emperor Lelouch.

"The old Britannia, under Charles ze Britannia, 98th Emperor," replied Zero, "But this was run by his brother, V.V."

Lelouch smiled, "That's a strange name."

"This is all very well, but why am I here?" asked the third man.

Lelouch smiled, "Amadeus, you are here to take part in a very special test."

Amadeus frowned slightly, "I don't see what the Calikarcha can hope to do in this ruin."

Amadeus Tyrone was a handsome young man in his late twenties, with jet black hair and a winning smile. He also bore the rank of Calikarcha; the Emperor's top assassin. He had never failed a hit and was proficient in every weapon and martial art under the sun. He could kill anyone using anything, from a tank to a blade of grass. If that wasn't enough he was also a superb professor in sociology – he could befriend anyone and gain their trust in less than a month. It was even said that he was so smooth with words he could convince some targets to commit suicide.

Zero looked at him through his mask, "There is an ancient relic underneath this cavern. It was once called the Twilight Gate."

Amadeus raised an eyebrow, "And how is this related to my profession?"

"It isn't. We just need someone utterly loyal to Emperor Lelouch."

"So why not you?"

"Because I'm more important."

Amadeus could have sworn Zero was smiling. But you can't really tell when someone is when they have a mask on with a voice muffler.

"So what is this Twilight Gate?" he asked.

Lelouch rubbed his hands together, "Let's find out."

They found a large, spiral staircase at the back of the cavern and descended. It looked like it went on for a while.

"So who was V.V.?" asked Lelouch.

"Apparently he was an immortal child who researched on the causes of eternal life," answered Zero.

Lelouch laughed, "Immortal! Then why is he not alive at the moment?"

"Because the legend goes that his brother, Charles, betrayed him and stole his immortality."

"'Stole' his immortality?" Lelouch scoffed, "How plebeian this story is. So why isn't _he_ alive then?"

"I don't know," replied Zero.

"Maybe someone stole it off _him_?" laughed Amadeus, "Like a game of Hot Potato except you want the potato."

They descended in silence again until Amadeus asked, "No-one has explained why you've chosen me to do… wait what am I supposed to do?"

"Oh did no-one tell you?" said Lelouch, faking shock, "We expect you to die Amadeus."

The Calikarcha turned his head around to check if it was a joke, but a bullet punctured his skull and carried half his brain out of it. He keeled over and fell through the gap in the spiral staircase to smash into the ground many steps below.

Zero lowered the smoking pistol and pocketed it.

"Was it really necessary to do that here?" asked Lelouch.

"You decided to mention his death," replied Zero, "And he was a very dangerous man. I decided to act first."

"Very good."

When they finally arrived at the bottom of the staircase all that was there were more skeletons, a dark tunnel and the broken body of Amadeus Tyrone.

"So where is it?" asked an impatient Emperor Lelouch.

"Where's what?" replied Zero.

"The gate, you idiot!" Lelouch said exasperatingly, "Where is this bloody Twilight Gate?"

But Zero had knelt down and was investigating the skeletons.

"This was an old railway. The track leads down the tunnel," said Zero.

"Your expertise on locomotives is fascinating," said Lelouch sarcastically, "But I haven't got a gate in front of me yet!"

"These skeletons are charred and burned. They were blown up. If there had been a knightmare in the tunnel then it could have-"

"Zero!"

The masked man slowly turned to look at his emperor.

"Sir?"

"Where is this gate?"

"Down the tunnel."

"Then let's go. You're dragging Amadeus."

* * *

><p>They finally arrived at the gate.<p>

"That's it?" asked Lelouch, unimpressed.

It stood as tall as a two-story building and was set into the stone wall as if it had existed for thousands of years. Two massive, bleak stone panels would swing inward to reveal what lay behind. The only thing that marked it out was a strange falcon-symbol set into the centre of the doors.

"What is that symbol?" Lelouch asked, pointing upwards at it.

"Scholars at the archives say that is supposed to represent the mark of eternal life," Zero replied.

"Eternal life…" whispered Lelouch.

But there was something familiar about this that he couldn't quite remember. Then it hit him.

"There was one of these upstairs, wasn't there?"

"Yes, but that was destroyed in the battle and it served another purpose."

"Which was?"

"To allow a person to enter a weapon that could destroy God."

"Destroy God?" Lelouch mused, "How childish."

They looked up at the massive gate.

"So," Lelouch said, "How do we open it?"

"Allow me."

Zero dragged the battered and dusted corpse of Amadeus up to the gigantic gate and laid him up against it. Blood trickled out of his body and around the door.

Then, all of a sudden, the falcon-symbol blazed crimson and the massive doors thundered inward. They slowly opened, revealing what lay on the other side.

"My God," whispered Lelouch, "So this is the-"

"That's right sir. This is the Twilight Gate. Also known as the Well of Souls.

It allows resurrection."

* * *

><p>In Jeremiah's bedroom, the cyborg slept, his servos and muscles relaxing for the night. His ancient body might carry him for a few more years, but no more. But in the darkness, someone else had different plans for his death.<p>

Crane hung from the mahogany rafters above Jeremiah. The cyborg was on his back, mouth hanging open as he snored blissfully. It was almost too easy.

The ninja carefully lowered a small string that he hung above Jeremiahs open mouth. Then with his other hand he carefully took a medicinal injection tool and squeezed a few drops onto the string. The deadly poison travelled, thanks to gravity, down the string and into Jeremiahs gaping jaw. He stirred and groaned once before falling into one sleep he would never wake up from.

The ninja clambered like a monkey onto the ground, heading off to wipe out the rest of the house's occupants.

Because, the ninja noted, no matter who you are, or what you've done, there is no avoiding death.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, down by the airstrip, two men were on patrol.<p>

"Hey Red," said Green, "There's something wrong."

"What do you mean?" asked his best friend, "What's wrong?"

"Well, nothing's wrong, but, you know, it's like… like it feels like something's wrong, you know what I mean?"

"It's because it's our first night here: You're nervous."

"Seriously."

"Listen, if you're scared of the dark then don't volunteer for night patrol."

"I'm not scared of the-"

"It's like my grandma used to say: There's no killers hiding in the dark, just the shadows of killers."

Green stared at him.

"Ok, she might have been a bit crazy," admitted Red, "But here's the thing: She was never wrong."

* * *

><p>R.R. trembled. He swayed over the desk in his room, in pitch blackness. His mind was a mess. Several cans of cheap alcohol lay on the floor. In his right hand he held an injection apparatus with a vial of Refrain in it. In his left, he held a large knife. He was wondering which one to stab into his wrist.<p>

_What kind of rush would suicide give me_? he thought, _No doubt C.C. did it dozens, maybe even hundreds of times over her life. I need to feel pain._

_But C.C. is just waiting in that vial_. _She can be with me as long as I want, as long as I desire…_

He thought he heard a floorboard creek outside.

_Am I really that weak that I'll just take Refrain. It destroys people, turns their brain to shit and breaks their heart. Am I really that weak…?_

_Suicide would be even weaker wouldn't it? No… I wouldn't die. So is it alright…?_

The floor creaked behind him.

He spun the knife around and embedded it inside something vital behind him. A man, dressed all in black, clutched at the knife in his neck and gasped for breath as blood poured out his mouth.

"What were you trying to do?" asked R.R., lost in his own idiocy and madness.

The ninja fell to his knees, still trying to draw his last few breaths.

"You were trying to kill me, weren't you? Heh… I can't even kill myself, and you thought you could kill me?" R.R. was getting angry now, his violet eyes aflame.

The ninja keeled over, rasping.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" R.R. shouted, "Do you how many people I've killed? Do you know how many people I've betrayed? Who do you think killed his own father and claimed the throne for himself? Do you know how many have looked at me and seen a demon? All this power, all this legacy and you, you pathetic little, backstabbing, cowardly, shit-eating Britannian fuck thought you could KILL ME?"

He grabbed the katana out of the sheath on the dead ninja's back. He walked out of his room, drunk on madness and booze.

"COME OUT HERE AND FACE ME! COME OUT AND PLAY! YOU HIDE IN THE SHADOWS AND CALL YOURSELF MEN? COME OUT AND FIGHT LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA, THE ONLY DEMON EMPEROR!"

* * *

><p><em>Two minutes earlier…<em>

Lucia lay in Raven's bed with her arms wrapped around him. It had been the greatest night of her life. None of the big-money chess wins or raves had made her feel as good as he had. She wanted to stay there forever and never move from his side. They would stay together and after the rebellion had been won then they could find a place, settle down and live together…

Lost in her daydreams Lucia didn't notice the glum expression on Raven's face. Then she remembered his worried expression at the warehouse.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

His expression changed in a microsecond, to that of a warm and smiling young man. Lucia felt her heart give out with love.

"Nothing's wrong," he smiled.

Lucia almost believed him, with his sudden smile and handsome face. But there was still that nagging doubt. She didn't want it to upset him though, so she changed subject.

"What's your real name?" she asked, "I doubt the midwife at your birth said to your parents 'I present to you a son! Raven!'"

"I… don't like my name," Raven replied, uncomfortably.

"You don't like it?" Lucia said, incredulous, "A name is who you are! It is your identity and yourself! No-one can take that away from you."

Raven mumbled something under his breath.

"What?" asked Lucia.

"Corax Kasadian," Raven said with as much dignity as he could muster, "The stupidest name ever invented."

Lucia stared at him, her violet eyes intense.

"I think it's beautiful," she whispered.

Raven was taken aback. He looked down.

"You, you really think so?" he mumbled.

"Definitely," Lucia looked at him. "Better than mine anyway!" she laughed.

"I think Lucia's a beautiful name," Raven said looking into her eyes, "Why don't you like it?"

It was Lucia's turn to look away. "Because it isn't mine," she said mournfully.

"What do you mean?"

"I had no name," she replied, remembering, "I was just a silly little girl who came from the streets. I had never met anyone who cared about me. They all just looked at me with condescending stares and patronising speech. And then R.R. appeared. He just saved me from all those bastards. He gave me my name. Never before had I felt so complete. He was the first person who had ever cared about me.

"But there was something wrong. I think he had lost someone close to him and I just reminded him of her. He seemed so completely lost, I just had to help him."

"You're a very kind woman," Raven said staring into her brilliant eyes.

She stared back. "Thank you."

Raven pulled his eyes away. He so wanted to take her with him into the sunset.

"Why do you fight?" he asked, "Britannia mistreated you, but you could still live well as a half-breed."

She smiled at him, "Isn't it obvious? The rebellion is my family. And I'll always fight alongside you."

"But… what if we… why don't you come with me?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't we just ride off together?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, not fully understanding him.

"What I mean-" but he was cut off. They could hear a distant noise.

"What's that?" asked Lucia.

"It sounds like shouting," Raven said, his voice hard.

"It sounds like R-" but before she could finish, Raven pushed her off the bed.

Something small, sharp and silent shot through the sliding door and embedded itself in the wooden bedframe where Lucia's head had just been. Raven rolled out of bed and picked up his combat knife from under the bed and held it in front of him.  
>A ninja burst through the thin door, katana in hand and evil in his eyes. He leapt at Raven.<p>

Lucia screamed as blades collided and bodies rolled around the room. In all the confusion, she realised she couldn't use her Geass on the dark-dressed assassin as he wouldn't stop moving.

He spun, he slided, he spat. The ninja pushed Raven back, his katana missing Raven by millimetres with every swing, always stepping forward, barely taking a breath, thrashing like a crocodile, stabbing like a mad-man.

But Raven was a skilled warrior, even when naked, and fought back a fighting retreat as the ninja pressed his advantage. He ducked and weaved against the supersonic swings of the powerful warrior. It was like trying to dodge his own shadow. No matter how much he stepped back, the ninja followed him pace for pace.  
>So Raven took the offensive, by rolling under the next swing and past the ninja. He swung his arm around, knife in hand, and stuck it in the back of the leg of his attacker.<p>

The ninja didn't even scream, but he dropped to one knee. Raven sensed his advantage and took out the knife, ready to embed it in the ninja's head.

But the ninja was smarter than that. He spun around on his left leg and slashed behind him with the katana. Raven ducked back but was unable to avoid the sword. The cut didn't go deep but there was a long red line across his belly that dribbled blood. It was the first time in many years that someone else had spilt Raven's blood and he crashed over backwards in shock, dropping the knife.

The ninja stood over him, indifferent to the pain in his leg, and raised his katana high for the fatal blow.

"Hey! Fuckface!" shouted Lucia and threw a pencil at the back of the ninja's head.

The ninja spun around. It was all she needed.

"_The shadows won't save you now!_" she snarled. A red falcon-symbol seen only by the ninja shot out of her eye and entered his. It penetrated through to his brain and entered the deepest and darkest part of his mind.

He fell over backwards as the world around him turned to ash.

Creatures of magnificent malevolence towered over him with bodies of wriggling insects and the eyes of snakes. Screams rang through the air as the landscape changed around him. A world of twisted flesh, broken bones and rivers of blood took shape around him. A thousand nightmares towered over him and laughed at his miserable existence. Victims of his previous missions crawled out of the damned rivers and screamed at him, screaming their fear, screaming their hatred, screaming for their own pathetic lives. Demons of a thousand mythologies and Hells came for him in darkness, in light, in shadow. He screamed as they laughed. His own family came crawling out of the ground shouting their hate and curses against him. Hell existed in his head. They were coming for him, all around him, shouting and laughing, cursing and spitting. And always screaming. Never ending screams came from every throat, even his own. Screams and screams. He blocked his ears with his hands, but they grew mouths as well and screamed even louder than anything else. His toes turned to worms and wriggled into the ground of torn flesh. His tongue tried to shove itself down his own throat, to choke him until he threw up his own guts.

But then, out of the shadows and nightmares, came a woman. Radiant light beamed out of her, a beacon of hope in the encroaching darkness. Her hair flowed around her, as the demons shrank back, still screaming but now far away like a distant echo. She approached him and looked down at him with pitying eyes. His heart started racing faster, almost at the point of giving out. She stretched out a hand, with the ninja not even recognising it as the one that threw a pencil just a few seconds before. He didn't dare touch the hand that was offered for him for the fact that he might defile such human perfection. He might have been witnessing an angel, he did not know, as he had never practised Christianity. But the golden woman was just a beautiful sight before him and was radiant in her awe inspiring power.

"Why are you here?" she asked in a divine voice.

The ninja did not speak despite his tongue not choking him anymore. The sight before him was too celestial for him to speak.

"Why are you here?" asked Lucia, more firmly.

"To… to kill… everyone," and at his own confession, he started weeping.

She looked down lovingly, like a mother with a scolded son.

"Who sent you?" she asked.

The ninja looked up at her in awe.

"Who. Sent. You?" a voice filled with burning passion.

"Z…Z…Zero!" the ninja roared the name that formed on his lips.

And at once, the connection broke. He was back in the room, with two naked figures staring him down. He was shocked and stunned.

"Raven, please finish it," Lucia said, turning away.

However, the ninja hadn't reached his position without having to make split-second decisions. He pointed his right arm at the back of the girl and slapped it with his left.

"Lucia! Duck!" screamed Raven.

It was more instinct than Raven's warning that caused her to duck as the shruiken flew over her head and embedded itself in the wall. There was a loud popping noise and the room filled with black smoke.

"Lucia, he's escaping!"

"I… I can't see!" cried Lucia, coughing hard.

"Lie down! There will be less smoke near the ground."

They lay down trying to be as silent as possible. There was no sound and no sight. Eventually they heard running.

"In here!" cried Roy.

"Roy!" shouted Raven in warning, "There's a ninja in here!"

"Raven?" asked Roy, trying to peer through the smoke, "The ninja's gone, my men are chasing him down! Crawl towards the door. Shinto, open some windows."

"Let us just get some clothes first!" said Raven.

"Us?" Roy said, confused. It then dawned on him. "Lucia?"

"Hi Roy!" came Lucia's voice.

"Oh. Right."

* * *

><p>R.R. stood in absolute horror as he watched a ninja come out of Jeremiah's room.<p>

_Jeremiah… oh God no…_

The ninja, Crane, saw him.

They stared at each other down the corridor.

"You… you killed him?" asked R.R., unbelieving.

"Was my duty," replied the near-invisible assassin, "To the throne."

"Do… do you know who he was?" asked R.R., a rising power in his voice.

The ninja just stared at him.

"He was Jeremiah Gottwald. He had seen three centuries of existence. Three centuries of life. Three centuries of absolute, unswerving loyalty to me. That was all he ever was. Loyal."

"Loyalties must clash in this world," the ninja replied, "This is the way of war. What did you do to Hyen-"

"I fought him in these very mountains," R.R. said, indifferent to the ninja's presence, "His loyalty never stopped, never wavered. I mocked him, laughed at him, destroyed his standing in the world so badly that he stopped at nothing to try to kill me."

Crane stared at him, confused about the story this young man was telling him.

"But then his true loyalty was discovered. He was the only one of the Black Knights who stood with me when they all stabbed me in the back. He led my forces into battle under the shadow of the monstrous Damocles and trumped the Knight of Six under the smoke and fire of that climatic battle."

The ninja began to realise just who was standing before him.

"And he was there at my side when Zero killed C.C. and I. He never disobeyed an order and never left my side. His loyalty was unmatched. And you killed him."

The ninja charged, his sword in front of him. He pulled his arms back and stabbed his katana straight through R.R.'s heart. But R.R. felt nothing. He just stared behind the ninja, his eyes exploring a long ago memory.

"The only one who knew my real identity. The only one who would have undying loyalty to whatever my aim. The last one who truly knew me and my plans. And you killed him."

He finally looked at the warrior before him. The man was trembling. He was twisting the sword, trying to bring about the death of a mad, forgotten emperor.

"And. You. Killed. Him," said R.R. looking at the figure of the assassin.

"I…," the ninja tried to speak, tried to comprehend the sight before him, "I… am sorry."

"SORRY?" spat R.R., blood flying out his mouth and into the ninjas face, "YOU KILLED HIM! IN THE DARK! IN HIS SLEEP! YOU KILLED THE ONLY ONE WHO KNEW MY SECRET! THE WORLD ENVISIONED FOR NUNNALY, KALLEN, SUZAKU AND ALL THE REST! ONLY HE KNEW OF IT!

"...and me," he added softly.

Crane was almost crying with fear, "Please spare me, oh immortal demon emperor!"

"What?" asked R.R. plainly.

"Please… please spare me," begged the ninja.

"What is my name?" asked R.R., as Crane fell to his knees, his sword still embedded inside the figure before him.

"You.. you… are…"

"WHAT IS MY NAME, COWARD?" roared Lelouch.

"The… the Demon Emperor… Lelouch vi Britannia!" cried the ninja.

R.R. whipped his right hand upward and decapitated Crane with one stroke of the stolen katana. As his head smacked the ground, blood squirted upwards and showered R.R. with a fountain of gore.

R.R. let the blood drench him in all its majestic crimson. He closed his eyes as the fluid of his enemy drenched him. He slowly pulled the other katana out of him with his left hand so that he held one in each hand.

_Nunnally, C.C., Suzaku, Kallen, Jeremiah… they are all dead. Heroes, long forgotten in the expanse of time. They no longer affect me, control me. Whatever I did, I never did it for myself. But they are gone now. I am immortal. I can do what I want. There will no more weakness. No more pathetic little things like Refrain. I am in command. I have nothing left to do except take what I want. All my life I have surrounded myself in lies. This time I will surround myself with corpses, whether they be friend or foe. And I will rule._

"Well then," Lelouch grinned, "I have returned. And I have come to change everything."

* * *

><p>Roy spun around the corner and stopped suddenly. His men came round as well and almost barrelled into him. They all stopped and stared, in awe-filled horror, at the sight before them.<p>

A figure stood above a corpse. The dead ninja was missing his head. The figure was covered in blood, a katana in each hand. His hair was scarlet, his clothes crimson and his face red. Only his amethyst eyes were untouched. And they burned with such intensity that they seemed to almost glow. Roy saw the madman in his gaze and shook.

"R.R.?" he almost squeled the words.

R.R. looked at him.

"Roy, have everything packed up and ready to ship out in an hour. I want everyone up now."

"Sir… where's Jeremiah?"

"Jeremiah is dead. As his second-in-command I will take control of the White Knights. No-one will oppose me. Is that understood?"

"Yessir!" gulped Roy as his men saluted, "But sir, what do we do now?"

R.R. grinned.

"Now we will make an army, take Japan and crush Britannia."

As these words sank in, R.R. remembered something he had heard only a few hours before.

_Welcome to the Jungle. If you're not tough enough to survive then you'll never get out._

He laughed.

* * *

><p>As Emperor Lelouch looked into the Twilight Gate he remembered an old song he liked as a child.<p>

_We seem destined to live in fear  
><em>_And some that would say Armageddon is near  
><em>_But where there's a life while there's hope  
><em>_That man won't self-destruct_

_Why can't we treat our fellow men  
><em>_With more respect and a shake of their hands  
><em>_But anger and loathing is rife  
><em>_The death on all sides is becoming a way of life_

_We live in an uncertain world  
><em>_Fear understanding and ignorance lead to death  
><em>_Only the corpses are left  
><em>_For vultures to pray on their bones_

He laughed out loud.

"I really am the Demon Emperor! For who else could go into Hell and bring back the dead?"

* * *

><p>Watch episode 14 of Code Geass R2 for a reference for the Twilight Gate (or go to youtube and put this in <span>watch?v=ziQ6wRQV2AE 2:40).

Song at the end is 'The Legacy' by Iron Maiden. What? If FIWE can include Daft Punk then I can include metal! :)


	5. Carrion

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter even though it is nowhere near as good as the previous chapter. Deep down this is just filler before the mega chapters later on. Ah well, here goes!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14: Carrion<strong>

Two men sat cross-legged on the slope of the mountain. Dawn was breaking as the first rays of the eastern sun rose in the air. A rising sun. The once proud symbol of Japan. And the symbol of the country which had founded the school of the two men on the slope.

The two ninjas stared across the wasted plains. The rising sun was starting to illuminate the damaged lands and blasted rock formations which scattered the badlands to the horizon. Great battles had been staged here between Empress Lilia's Loyalists and Emperor Lelouch's Grand Army under General Natsume and Zero. The Loyalists had all but been wiped out, mainly thanks to Zero's unstoppable Lancelot.

A trail of dust in the distance indicated that there was any life at all on the badlands. They were too far away to see with the naked eye but with high-tech binoculars, like the ones the ninjas were using, a line of incredibly old trucks and jeeps were visible.

The ninjas lowered their binoculars and spoke without looking at one another.

"So…" asked one, "Should we pursue?"

"Depends," said the other, "On what is waiting for us if we fail."

"Grid!" laughed the first, "Crane and Hyena were killed by their enemies because of failure. We shall be executed by our own side for our own."

"So why bother asking, Weasel?"

"Because," Weasel said, deep in thought, "I was thinking of running away."

It was Grid's turn to laugh, "Running away? How very like you."

"Do not mock the wisest," chided Weasel, "Seeing as you were quick to turn tail last night."

Grid looked at the ground, remembering the unforgettable events of the previous night.

"You didn't get a wink of sleep," continued Weasel, "You were riveted with fear."

Grid felt a rush of anger at the man to his right.

"Something happened," he said defensively, "The green-haired woman, the half-breed, did something, nailed me with some sort of new drug, poison."

"Do you remember how she got you with it?"

Grid strained his memory.

"Something… happened with her eye. I… I remember a red bird. An eagle or falcon. Maybe a raven."

Weasel was thinking hard. He always thought hard.

"After we hunt down these rebels, we'll report to Zero about it."

Grid looked at him, "So we're going after them?"

"Of course. Unless you're too scared."

Grid flinched, "It's just that the odds are heavily stacked against us."

"Sometimes we don't have to fight. Two sides might kill each other off until not a single man remains. Then who wins?"

They both stood up.

"No-one," replied Grid.

"Incorrect. The carrion win. The crows and the ravens."

"Meaning…?"

"Let us follow them and watch them destroy themselves. Then we pick up the free meal."

"No wonder they call you Weasel."

They packed up quickly and put out their fire. They then began to scale down the mountain while watching for snakes. But as they descended, Grid spotted something.

"Weasel! Look at the vultures!"

Several vultures circled round a silhouette that stuck out like a sore thumb. It wasn't moving.

"So what?" asked an annoyed Weasel, "Probably just a wild dog."

"That looks human to me," argued Grid.

Weasel halted. He sighed and took out his pair of binoculars. He zoomed in on the black speck.

"Well I'll be damned. Fine, let's go rescue the idiot."

* * *

><p>Amadeus sat up and took in a huge lungful of air. He coughed into the rubble around him, blood drooling from his mouth. He was ghost white with shock. He felt around his forehead, trying to find a bullet hole that had disappeared.<p>

Zero looked down at him and handed over a wet cloth.

"You all right?" he asked without much empathy.

Amadeus still couldn't speak. He wiped his face repeatedly, trying to see if all around him was real. They were still under the research station, just outside the Twilight Gate. Emperor Lelouch stared into the gateway, his short dark hair and crooked nose making space for his bulging green eyes. He looked like a child at Christmas.

Amadeus looked into the gateway and immediately turned away, not wanting to see back into the land of the dead.

It was immensely dark inside the Gate. There was no light inside it and no light could penetrate it. It was eternal and supreme darkness. However, every so often, a strange white wisp appeared and then vanished. It came and went so quick that it was hard to see what it really was. It was as fast as a blink.

"Zero," Lelouch whispered in awe, "How did you find out about all this?"

"I had a friend who was a direct descendant of Chairman Kaguya, the leader of the United Nations 300 years ago and who was also a cousin of a man directly involved in all this. He apparently was heavily involved with Britannia, The Black Knights and the original Emperor Lelouch's death. I believe he was the one who actually killed the demon emperor."

"Zero?" asked Lelouch, quite surprised, "That man was Zero?"

"It appears so. His name was Suzaku Kururugi and held many high positions in the New Britannia, the most important of course was being Empress Nunnally's aide. He was the one who killed Emperor Lelouch."

"Yes, but that doesn't explain how you know of this place."

"He left a massive catalogue of memoirs and books about the war and the people involved to his dear cousin which has now passed through her descendants till now."

"'Till now?'" echoed Lelouch, smiling.

"Yes, this descendant unfortunately suffered a dreadful accident. I really shouldn't have been showing off my sword when she slipped on the floor of her house," anyone could tell that Zero was smiling behind that mask, "I decided, out of good faith, to 'repossess' her possessions. In those memoirs I found many interesting things. There were many facts about the Black Knights, the original Zero, Emperor Lelouch, a strange green-haired girl who was never named, immortality and a strange word that kept cropping up among the memoirs…"

"Which was?"

"Geass."

Lelouch turned away from the Gate, "Sounds important. What did it say about this?" he said pointing to the Gate.

"Ah, now this thing was only found after the great wars and was heavily studied in its uses. Apparently this thing is older than the legendary Immortals themselves. Apparently the legend goes along the lines of this…

"As man was beginning to pick themselves up from their four-legged ways, God recognised them as the future of his planet. He saw them building structures for protection and warmth and knew how smart they would become, so He was tempted to strike them all down before they caused inevitable damage to the world they lived upon. However, they began to build different buildings. These buildings had no purpose: they did not help humanity eat, as they stored no food. They did not help humanity take shelter, as they didn't live under their roofs. Instead they went into these buildings and prayed. They prayed to many hundreds of different creatures: feathered serpents, humans with animal heads, great beasts of huge size and unstoppable will.

"God eventually realised they were praying to _him_. Albeit each culture had their own version or versions of him and each had different ways of worshipping him but the point was the same. They were praying to him for help in their current lives and help their children's. This made God depressed; watching the humans pray to help themselves live better despite dying in the end and watching their children repeat the process disheartened him. He had granted no creature immortality as he realised that they could become a threat to him and his existence. So instead, he decided to reward the humans for their faith. He gave the high priests and bishops some strange thing called 'Geass'.

"I still don't exactly know what this 'Geass' is but I do know that whoever held it had power; It is believed that Emperor Lelouch used this power to help him. Anyway, God gave the most faithful this power and they were grateful beyond measure. They praised him and loved him even more. But still, their mortality was their weakness and so they died, taking their Geass with them. God, not wanting the people to lose faith in him, granted the power to their sons and daughters.

"But these people had seen their parent's power and position in life and grew greedy. They used the Geass for their own personal gain, taking what they wanted, killing who they didn't like and forgetting to praise God. This made God angry but He decided to give them a chance. He decided to test them. He placed the Twilight Gate here and told them never to use it."

"Like the Christians Garden of Eden," smiled Lelouch.

"Yes," replied Zero, "But the ending is different. The Geass users didn't know why God had decided to place this strange gate here and they studied it intensively, helping their Geass grow stronger and stronger with each passing day. God watched them, wondering if they would pass the test and fearing the result. Eventually, inevitably, they discovered this power of resurrection and so managed to bring one of their own back who had died.

"God was enraged and quickly confronted them, telling them how much they had disappointed him. But he hadn't counted on the fact that His Geass had grown so powerful within them. They fought Him in a titanic battle which wiped out all but two of the humans. Using their Geass in one last attack, these two defeated God, destroyed his intelligence and creativity, and locked him away in an unbreakable prison.

"These two people, a man and a woman, realised what they had done and quickly tried to take advantage. They consumed the dead peoples Geass and God's powers, which led them to becoming immortal. With this immortality, they ruled. Indestructible, they wiped out everyone in their way, eventually becoming Gods in their own right. They were worshipped wherever they went and loved no matter their crime. But in the end, they became bored with their immortality and the praise they received and so decided, out of fun, to watch the humans kill each other off. They delivered the Christian Bible and the Qur'an to different races of people and to watch the amusing results of what would happen next.

"Of course, they were never sated with just the little wars and so created more religions and a system of currency: Money and Religion is never a good mix. But even then they became bored with all the death and war and so decided to end their lives. They managed, through a mix of their strange Geass and immortality, to pass on their curse of eternal life to someone else and so became nothing but blood and bones. I don't know who the man passed his immortality onto but the woman supposedly tricked a young girl by pretending to be a nun and passed her curse to her.

"And so the immortals pass their immortality to different people as time continues but it can never be rid of fully. That is the legend surrounding this Gate."

They all stayed silent as they looked at the great Gate. It seemed twice as powerful now.

"So," Lelouch said, "What do you think of the story Zero?"

"I think its complete bullshit. Poorly written, not convincing and quite boring."

Lelouch laughed and turned from the Gate for the first time, to look at Amadeus.

"So, my Calikarcha," he asked pleasantly, "What was it like being dead?"

Amadeus looked up and rubbed his hands together. He was shaking.

"It… was dark. It seemed like a very long sleep. Nothing but darkness. You… you know the lasting images of light when you close your eyes? The strange colours and patterns? None of it was there. It was quite scary."

Lelouch didn't seem happy with this answer, "So no pearly gates? No great clouds and seraphim choirs? But then again, for a guy like you, I kind of expected scorching heats and leering demons.

"What about the catch?" Lelouch now asked Zero, "When you first told me of this, you said there was a catch of sorts."

"Yes. The whole purpose of the Twilight Gate was a test. A second chance. Therefore the Gate itself only grants a second chance. If you are resurrected once, than you cannot be resurrected again."

"Guess I better be careful then," laughed Amadeus, starting to sound like his old self. He subconsciously touched his right eye.

_Good, still there _he thought, _I thought dying might get rid of it._

"I believe," said Zero, "We need to fortify this place."

"Good point," commended the Emperor, "Let's get the troops in."

* * *

><p>The trucks rode along in silence. They had been driving all day and the sun was beginning to set over the badlands.<p>

In the truck at the front, there was heavy discussion.

"I'm telling you, there were at least twelve of those ninjas!"

"Bullshit Minato," replied Roy, "There were only around five, maybe six. Three attacked the mountains while the other three set the forest on fire."

"How do you know there were three at each end?" asked Shinto.

"R.R. killed two of them, while the third got away. And there must have been three others at the bottom of the mountain."

"Why three at the bottom?" asked Fiona, "It could have only been one."

"There was no way one man burned down the entire forest," puffed an annoyed Roy, "He would have to have known where to exactly start the fire for it to spread. And how much the wind was blowing."

"I don't know, those ninjas seemed pretty skilled," said Fiona's father, Thomas, "After all, they seemed to escape your grasp Roy."

Roy's face turned red as the truck echoed with laughter.

Two trucks back, a truck carrying parts for a Havoc was being driven by a much glummer crew. Raven was concentrated on the back of the truck in front of him, an aching pain in his gut from last night's battle. Lucia was sitting next to him, staring out the window.

_What was that thing she used? The ninja started to break down in front of me; he was crying his eyes out in fear. Did she have some sort of drug that she injected into him? No, she was on the other side of the room. All she did was shout a threat and looked into his eyes…_

"What was your childhood like Corax?" Lucia asked.

He was caught off guard by the private question and quickly started to stammer.

"I… well… actually, please just call me Raven," he said, embarrassed.

"Ok Crow."

"Crow?"

"Yeah, another type of bird. Didn't you know that?"

"Of course!" said an annoyed Raven, "I just knew someone by that name…"

"Oh?"

Raven sighed and began to recount his tale:

"I was found on the doorstep of an orphanage, with just a note with my name on it. It was a rough place; drugs, stabbings, rape. No-one cared about what we did or who died. It was a miserable and pitiful place. I had to fight to survive, rummaging through garbage and dumpsters to get my next meal or, if someone bigger had stolen my bed, some shelter. The owners of the dumpsters shooed me away if they found me and called me carrion. Like scavenger birds.

"But one day, after my bed had been stolen again, I found a dumpster with a kid my age in it. We fought and scuffled for possession of its contents before we both broke away. We realised there was no point fighting and so decided to work together. He was just a street kid, an orphan without an orphanage. He was psychotic but that was a trait worth having in those parts. We shared shelter and we shared food. We kept a little stockpile as the days wore on. We weren't happy but we were surviving. But one day we found another kid feasting on our stockpile. He had run away from home after his parents had starved and beat him and was just looking for some food and friends. So we decided to come together. As it turned out, he was a very good smooth-talker. So we combined our talents: I was the brains, dumpster kid was the brawn and runaway was the cunning. Because they called us carrion we decided to name ourselves after birds: Dumpster was Hawk, Runaway was Crow and I was Raven.

"With our talents combined we took over the orphanage. We killed those who opposed us and formed a gang of those who didn't. As we grew older our position in the criminal underworld became bigger. We were like wild animals, getting stronger and hungrier with each passing day. But eventually, Crow became tired of all the criminal activities we were doing and so left to join the Britannian army. We were mad as hell but couldn't do anything about it so we continued on. But without the diplomatic skills of Crow we began to lose favour in the underworld and violence in the gang rose. Hawk blamed Crow for this and joined the Britannian military to track him down. I left and went solo, becoming a basic gun-for-hire and soon rose in infamy. The gang was destroyed.

"And that's the story of my childhood. In all its shitty glory."

"How," Lucia asked, "How did three different kids like you become friends?"

"We had something very strange in common."

"What?"

"We all had really stupid names."

Lycris stared at the monitors.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure these are the rebels?"<p>

"Yes," replied Colonel Shimada, "Every last rebel is in those trucks heading north."

"So why aren't our air wings wiping them out at this very moment?"

"Because that would be stupid," it was General Natsume who spoke.

"And how is it stupid, father dearest?" Lycris snarled.

"Because half of Lilia's army is hiding up in the north. If we allow these rebels to follow them then they can lead us to every last opposing force in Japan."

Lycris ground his teeth in frustration.

"I swear I'll get these bastards if it is the last thing I do."

_Much like you swore to find and kill Crow all those years ago__,_ he angrily thought to himself, _and you never did find him._

* * *

><p>Another two trucks behind Raven and Lucia's was a truck carrying a group of engineers. R.R. sat in the passenger's seat while his driver tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.<p>

"Stop that," he ordered.

The driver stopped tapping his fingers.

After a while he started humming.

"Stop that."

The driver stopped humming.

After a while he started tapping his fingers again.

"Fine," R.R. gave in, "What is it you want to talk about?"

"Well sir, no disrespect, but we've changed headquarters several times in the past few days, been attacked by Havocs, been attacked by ninjas and had most of our equipment destroyed in a nasty forest fire. And I've had to do a lot of driving with very little sleep these past few days."

"So?"

"Well I was wondering if I could get a pay raise."

R.R. stared at him, "You're in a rebellion for this country's freedom. You're not being paid."

"This is why I would like a pay raise."

R.R. smirked and decided to play ball, "Alright. How much?"

"A car, a boat, a jet, a house, a tennis court and a pet elephant named Ellie."

"A what?"

"It's always been a dream of mine since I was a kid. Have a pet elephant name Ellie. I've never seen an elephant mind you."

"You're a very strange rebel."

"Says the commander who's got a great, big, red falcon tattoo on his forehead."

"What's your name?"

"Oh, don't worry about my name. I'm too unimportant in the grand scheme of things to be bothered with a name. I'm just the twenties something guy with a pregnant wife, dreams of elephants, residential euphobia, who likes goats milk, sci-fi novels, scented candles, stained glass, frosted glass, broken glass, wet sand around my feet, lemurs, video games, Pizza Hut, _Harry Potter_, ice-cream, chocolate cake, dogs, independence for the country that I love, oh, and did I mention elephants?"

R.R. looked at him like he was mental.

"Those were all things that were completely unimportant and you didn't need to know. I told them to you because, as an important person, you are likely to survive a lot longer than me and therefore remember me. After all, I'm just rebel truck driver no. 3 who has no idea about the current state of affairs around him or the major players involved."

There was silence after that; the driver had started humming again while R.R. was stunned. Eventually he found something to say.

"I once knew a girl who liked Pizza Hut."

"Is she important?"

"Was. She was very important. But she's dead now."

"How do you know?"

R.R. stared at him again, wondering if he should kill this mad fool.

"Because she died in front of me."

"How?"

"She was stabbed with a large sword. And then someone checked her pulse. She was definitely dead," R.R. said, more to reassure himself then the driver.

"People can survive being stabbed. Who checked the pulse?"

"Jeremiah Gottwald."

"Ah, he was the old leader right? Well he's dead isn't he? So how can you be sure she's dead when you've taken a dead man's word for it?"

R.R. found talking to this man exasperating but strangely satisfying.

"Because he was alive when he said it," he said through gritted teeth.

"So how do you know she isn't alive in here?" the driver pointed to his chest where his heart was, "Or here?" he said, pointing to his brain.

"She might well be…" R.R. said sighing. But then he realised something.

"How do you know so much?" R.R. asked him.

"Ah, don't mind me. I'm just the rebel truck driver. I'm as about important as every other truck driver in this convoy. Hell, if someone wrote a book about this rebellion in the future then I bet I wouldn't even get a good description. I'm just that unimportant."

They continued in silence as night fell. Eventually R.R. asked;

"What's euphobia?"

"The fear of hearing about good things."

R.R. stared at him again. He stared at him long and hard.

And then he laughed. He laughed for the first time in over three centuries.

* * *

><p>"So what's your name?" Weasel asked.<p>

The night was illuminated around them by the campfire. The two ninjas had set up a couple of tents, ready to venture out in the morning. They had also found a man dying in the desert. They had given him good water and food but he was still very weak.

"My… my… my name…?" he asked, his breaths not coming easy.

Grid was stood up, watching the dark desert for any sign of danger.

"Yes. Remember who you are… can you remember?"

"Li… Ling Xingke," he said, trembling.

"You're Chinese?" asked a surprised Weasel.

Ling nodded and took another sip of water.

"Why are you here?"

"I… I was searching for someone… something," he said, "I travelled a long way. I crawled out of a Chinese field hospital and smuggled myself over here to Japan. I stowed away on a truck. They found me and threw me into the desert. I was trying to reach the mountains but I… I think I collapsed."

"I know. We found you. But why are you here?"

Ling was a hard man to look at. He might have been handsome once but now half his face had been replaced with shoddy metal plates. His left eye was a red orb, his right leg completely metal and both his arms were cyborg implants as well. He was now completely bald.

"I was searching for something…" Ling tried hard to remember, "The White Knights!" he cried triumphantly.

Grid tensed but Weasel let nothing show.

"And why were you searching for the White Knights?" he asked, his voice as smooth as silk.

"Britannia… destroyed China's armies! We were defeated! Their forces head west to conquer the United European-Asian Pax!" he spat the next words, "And they are led by Lancelot and its bastard pilot Zero!"

"So you've come to find the rebellion and join them?"

"Yes."

"Well…" said Weasel as he pulled an unseen knife out of a hidden pouch, "It's a small world we live in, isn't it?"

* * *

><p><strong>Important!<strong> In your reviews of this chapter please state whether **you want Ling to live or not** and cast a vote. FIWE obviously had this guy ready for something in his unwritten version and I was wondering where to put him in. So i'll leave it for my *cough* many *cough* fans to decide his fate. If your votes allow him to live, then he'll join the massive cast of characters already there. If not, then the ninjas add him to the 'dead list' of targets.


	6. Rise of the Rebellion

I have returned! After a full week(!) away from updating, I return with three chapters that I will upload by saturday (United Kingdom time). Rise of the Rebellion is up first, and I think I'm beginning to include some bits of crap humour... ah well. Tell me what you think of it, reviews are always welcome!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15: Rise of the Rebellion<strong>

"Well…" said Weasel as he pulled an unseen knife out of a hidden pouch, "It's a small world we live in, isn't it?"

"Why do you say that?" asked Ling suspiciously.

Weasel raised the knife up and struck, cutting straight down.

The pear in his left hand sliced neatly in two.

"Because as it happens," he said as he gave half the pear to Ling, "We are members of the rebellion."

Grid flinched. _Wha-What is he __saying?_

Ling stared. "Really?" he asked, shocked.

"Yep. We are tracking a group of Britannian-hired mercenaries across the badlands," Weasel lied, "We've been tailing them for the past three days."

"How… how can I trust you?" asked Ling.

"There was a fire," Weasel said, "In the mountains to the south. Do you remember seeing it?"

"Yeah… yes it was all over those mountains! Narita, right?"

"Exactly," Weasel said, and began his most proficient art of warfare: brilliant bullshitting, "Now there was a village in those mountains. And an engineering school. Anyway, one of the engineers was a member of the rebellion and she found an ancient cave system while exploring the mountains. Now at that time a group of rebels, ourselves included, were lying low from the Britannians having just raided one of their warehouses. She called her pals in the rebellion and told them of this ancient cave system. They then called us and told us to flee there."

His voice took a steely edge as he gazed into the campfire. He had always been a master storyteller.

"But we were betrayed. One of our own told the Britannians where we were going. We were tracked by those mercenaries and we led them right to the mountains."

"Oh no," whispered Ling, who was growing less intelligent than a goldfish.

"Oh yes. They set fire to the surrounding forest, burned it all down. The village and school caught fire. None were spared. If they survived the inferno, then they ran, screaming and burning into machine-gun fire. Women and children too."

"Those bastards…" muttered Ling, who Grid had now named Mr Gullible.

"Of course, we were all nice and snug in the cave," spat Weasel, "Until we heard the screaming. Us two were told to wait behind and destroy any incriminating evidence to the rebellion. The rest of the group ran out to fight. They were massacred. When all was ash and dust, the arrogant bastards didn't even bother looking for the cave system. They just laughed and left."

"But we followed them. You see, we two were taught in the school of the Ninjutsu martial art and so managed to follow them stealthily across the badlands. We believe they're heading for Balthagron. And we will exact our revenge."

When the river of lies had stopped flowing, Ling turned to them and said; "I will help you."

"Ling, this is not your figh-"

"Bullshit!" he said, "I have nothing left to live for with China's defeat! The resistance is all that is left for me and my country now! Let me join you on your quest for vengeance!"

Weasel studied him, all too aware that he had the cyborg in the palm of his hand.

"Alright Ling; If you help us kill these mercenaries, then we'll let you join the rebellion."

Ling stood up and shook the Britannian ninja's hand.

"What are your names?" he asked.

"Uh, he is Hideki and I am, um, Ryuga."

"Well then thank you, Hideki, Ryuga," he nodded to both of them.

* * *

><p>"This is it?" asked Minato, appalled.<p>

It was a large concrete slab on the outskirts of the Britannian settlement. The city of Balthagron was a Britannian city built on the coast of north-east Japan to allow Britannian settlers from the horizon to land and make their living on foreign soil. Although the centre of the city was beautiful with graceful and slender buildings, the outskirts were just large, concrete towers with black windows. This one was no different.

"Yes. This is the new Headquarters of the White Knights," confirmed R.R.

"At least we've got the whole building to ourselves," Roy mused.

"And we've already arranged a meeting with Asano Mogami," said Lucia.

"Who's that?" asked Minato.

"The old general of Empress Lilia's Japanese armies."

"He still has an entire division of troops performing guerrilla actions to the west," R.R. said, deep in thought, "We'll need every man he's got."

"Aren't we going to join him?" asked Lucia, surprised.

"No. He's going to join us. And he will have no choice."

"What about security? I don't want to wake up in the night with a ninja's blade hanging over me."

"We've got snipers hidden in the surrounding buildings with night-vision sights. Anyone who even knocks on our door is going to be blown away."

They all stood outside, bags in hand.

"Well, I'm not waiting," Raven said and walked in. The others followed suit.

* * *

><p>The control room was dim. The only lights came from the many monitors around the room. Lycris walked in to find Colonel Shimada close a private terminal.<p>

"Who was that?" he asked icily.

"That was a person in high places," Shimada said, not wanting to reveal his talks with Zero just yet, "Who brings us good and bad news."

"Where's General Natsume?"

"Emperor Lelouch ordered him to China to help with security around a special position. Want to hear the good news?"

"Hit me."

"Major Uesugi has been killed by the Calikarcha in China. The bastard was hiding in Old Hong Kong."

"Heh, glad that fucker's dead. What of the bad news?"

"The satellite that had been tracking the rebels was shot down by the Damocles a few hours ago."

Lycris' blood turned to ice. This wasn't good.

"So have we lost them?"

"Sure have. Luckily we still have two ninja's tracking them. And there's news that Zero is bringing the Calikarcha in to wipe out the rebels."

Lycris kicked a chair in frustration, "What about the tracker I planted on Raven?"

"That went offline a while ago."

"What do you mean it 'went offline'?" snarled Lycris.

"As in it is no longer working. That's what offline means."

Lycris glared at him.

"How do I know you're not a traitor?" he asked.

Shimada returned the glare, "I am loyal to the crown. The crown of our demon emperor."

"We'll see."

Shimada went back to working on his computer.

_Why does Zero not want me to reveal the trackers location? _he thought, _And who his informant is?_

* * *

><p>"What are we going to do about R.R.?" asked Minato to his brother in a hushed tone.<p>

"Don't worry, leave everything to me," Shinto whispered back.

"And what are you two cads muttering to each other about?"

Green walked down the corridor accompanied by his best friend Red.

"None of your business," Minato snarled.

"Well, seeing as those ninjas knew exactly where our headquarters where before we had slept one night there, we were wondering if there might be a traitor among us," Green said with his usual bluntness.

"We're not traitors," murmured Minato, his hands balling into fists.

"If it's a fight you want, then come and get it," Red said, scrunching up his fists as well.

"Ladies, ladies," Roy came in, interrupting them, "No fighting in the girls toilets."

"Screw you Roy," said Shinto.

"Say, Roy," Green said, "What is that you wear around your neck?"

Roy reached up to the USB key around his neck. It was in the shape of a red and white eagle wing.

"Oh this? This is the Guren MKII key that my grandmother owned in the fights against the old Demon Emperor Lelouch. She was supposed to be the best pilot on the planet."

"How touching," said Minato snidely.

"Say, would that key work now? The Guren has been on display at the Tokyo War Museum for the past three hundred years," Green asked.

"Probably. I don't really know. Hey, have you guys seen Fiona? She's supposed to be calibrating the speeders."

"Yeah," said Red, "I saw her go upstairs with R.R., something about a special job."

"Yeah, a really special job," winked Green.

* * *

><p>Fiona giggled as Lelouch got on top again.<p>

_I have spent 300 years in eternal sleep. Everyone I once knew is dead. I am eternal. And I haven't had the pleasures of the flesh for a long time…_

"Oooohhhh…" Fiona groaned as R.R. pushed forward.

_Nothing can hold me back. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want._

Fiona moaned.

_No weaknesses. No pity. No remorse. No restraint…_

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" C.C. asked in her playful tone.

R.R. roared and broke away. He panted as sweat came pouring down.

"Leave," he ordered.

Fiona grasped at her sheets and looked at him.

"Leave," he growled. There was unmistakeable menace in his voice.

Fiona took the hint, got out the bed, picked up her clothes and left.

R.R. sighed and went over to pick up his clothes.

"I didn't think it would be this easy for you to forget about me," C.C. smiled.

"SHUT UP!" roared R.R., "You are dead! You only exist in my mind! Why do you still torment me?"

She looked at him with cat's eyes.

"Why?" he almost pleaded as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"I'm here to help you," C.C. said and began to sing, "_Life is such a little thing…"_

"Please stop."

"…_for the man who would be king._"

R.R. fell to his knees and looked up at her, her green hair flowing about her, golden eyes staring into his soul.

"_As sweat __rains__ from your pores…_"

"You're dead."

"…_I promise the world will be yours._"

"Shut up!" R.R. said and stood up, "I don't need you and I never did. You were always in my way, ever since I first saw you with Nunnally! You were just a crazy witch begging for attention! And now you're dead, I can take any woman I want!"

C.C. glared at him.

"Now leave," R.R. thundered.

They glared at each other from across the room. They stared in silence for several minutes.

"What do you plan to do Lelouch?" she asked.

"I plan to kill that mockery of me on the throne and take it for myself."

"And what of the rebels?"

He smiled, "They are just pawns."

She smiled back.

"Then I wish you the best of luck," she laughed mockingly, "From the deepest recess of your mind."

And then she was gone.

* * *

><p>The sand and dirt of the badlands wore the company of three's shoes down fast. The sun was as unforgiving as the make-believe mercenaries were.<p>

"Once we reach the forest, then we'll be able to find our way to Balthagron," said Weasel.

Grid sidled up to him.

"Why are we keeping Ling alive?" he whispered angrily.

"Because I want to see the look on his face when I stab him in the back after watching him kill the rebel leaders."

"You're a sad, sad, sociopath, Weasel."

"I know. I love it."

* * *

><p>The warehouse was bleak and stolid. Bare walls and bare floors. A leak dripped water. Drip. Drip. A dog barked outside. The gloom and doom of the warehouse was reflected on the faces of those inside.<p>

Eight men stood at one end. Three men stood at the other.

R.R. stood with his second-in-command Roy, and his chief scientist, Fiona's father, Thomas. On the other side of the warehouse, General Asano and seven of his elite bodyguards stood with him.

There was silence.

In the end, R.R. decided to break the ice and strode forward.

"General Asano! So glad we could finally-"

"That's far enough R.R.," General Asano said firmly, "I've heard of you and your idiotic little resistance group and I have no time for such childish games."

R.R. frowned, "We have Empress Lilia's grand permission to-"

"I don't give a shit what the Empress says," Asano said dismissively, "We are a proper resistance group, who kill Britannians and wreck their convoys. We stop their supplies and raid their bases. The world follows us because we are the only group with the balls to do what is necessary."

"How pathetic," R.R. stated, steel in his voice, "You only care about attention."

"How dare you address the general like that!" said one of his bodyguards, who pulled a gun.

"No wait," Asano said, "What do you mean R.R.?"

"I plan to take an army, take Kyoto and Nagoya and liberate Japan."

"Hah!" laughed Asano, "You and what army?"

"Yours."

Asano frowned, "You will not take my soldiers from me."

"Oh I won't need to," smiled R.R.

Asano ground his teeth, "This is bullshit! They aren't resistance, they're showmen! Gun them down!"

Gunfire echoed around the old warehouse and screams were covered up by the shockingly loud noise of rifles.

Asano looked stunned as his bodyguards fell down around him dead. He was surrounded by armed White Knights.

R.R. turned to Thomas, "Your Mirage-Units are excellent, Thomas. I only saw a shimmer when I was speaking with the general."

"With time sir, they will be completely invisible."

R.R. strode up to General Asano.

"This is dishonourable R.R.," the General growled, "Taking me prisoner to force my men into serving you. You know they look up to me like a father."

"On the contrary General, you can leave now if you want to," R.R. said.

"What?" asked Asano, surprised.

"Look into my eyes General," R.R. said, "I can take Japan with your troops. We can crush their armies with the sounds of the people. Their hope. Their pride. Their mistreatment by their tormentors: all will fuel the rebellion. And you can help me tear down the Britannian flag so you can place the Japanese in its place. You. And I."

Asano looked into his counterpart's eyes and saw the great leader behind his gaze. He saw the grand ambitions. He saw the master plans. He saw the meticulous genius. And he realised that he could help this man free Japan and destroy the Britannian presence.

"What about Zero and his Lancelot?" Asano asked weakly.

"Soon we will have the Guren. And then, when the Lancelot is destroyed, nothing will stand in our way!" R.R. exclaimed.

Asano knew what he wanted. Japan, freed from the false emperor. He knew there was no other choice.

"Then let's go get them," he agreed darkly.

* * *

><p>The sun beat down upon Amadeus's head as he left the airport. There was a ringing noise in his brain.<p>

"Yes?"

"Remember Calikarcha, we want you to track down who the rebels are meeting with. A few days before, the members of the White Knights met with renegade general Asano Mogami and have swallowed his troops into their rebellion."

"Did your informant tell you that?" the Calikarcha asked.

Zero said nothing.

Amadeus smirked, "Alright, it's about time I went to Balthagron."

Zero cut the connection.

"That is, after a few drinks of course."

* * *

><p>Lucia walked through the garage. The garage filled with tanks, Havocs, APCs, VTOL aircraft and the engineers working on them. The garage that was fifteen meters high and a football pitch wide. She then walked through the drill ground. The drill ground filled with hundreds of new recruits, training hard under merciless drill captains. They crawled through tunnels, leapt over walls, hit targets with pinpoint accuracy from their rifles and sparred heavily in several different martial arts. She then made her way into the officers mess where she spotted someone she wanted to see.<p>

Red looked at her uncomfortably as Lucia strode towards him, eyes glazed with fury. He gulped.

"Ah, Lucia what can-" Red began.

"THE FUCK IS THIS!" she roared, a piece of paper fluttering in her hand, "Tell me it wasn't R.R. who set this up!"

"Well, uh, what is it?"

"THIS?" she screeched, "This is a lease for a beautiful beach villa in the town of Monbetsu!"

"Well, um, uh, well that's great news-"

"DO YOU KNOW WHERE MONBETSU IS?"

"Uh… Japan?"

"THE FUCKING NORTH COASTLINE OF HOKKAIDO!" she cried, "We are already so far north you could see the bloody North Pole! And R.R. wants to send me EVEN FURTHER NORTH? Why is that?"

"Uh, um, uh-"

"He doesn't want me in the battles," she fumed, "He just 'wants me safe'."

"That's not what he said!" said Red hurriedly, knowing it was exactly what R.R. said.

"Well we'll see about this!" Lucia said and strutted off towards the command room.

"Whoa!" cried Red, "You can't go in there!"

"Watch me."

"No," Red ordered, who grabbed Lucia and spun her around to look her dead in the eye.

"Listen," he said, "You. Cannot. Go. In. There. Do you unders-what? What the hell? GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Lucia stared in horror as Red fell to the ground, scrambling away from imaginary demons. His mouth hung open in terror. He was frozen in shock. She trembled.

"No… I… didn't… no!" she stuttered.

_How? I… didn't use it!_ she thought, _There was no way… unless I have lost control of it. I… NO!_

But it was too late. Red's heart gave out in shock. He died fearing for his life, scared out of his wits.

"No…" Lucia whispered, "I, no. Someone help me."

But she was alone in the hallway. Alone with someone she had just murdered.

_No! I didn't mean it! It was an accident._

_That changes nothing. He's dead._

_NO!_

_You will be cast out. You will be executed._

_Raven…_

_He will shun you._

_NO!_

_You are alone._

Lucia turned tail and ran. She ran and didn't stop.

* * *

><p>Green fell to his knees. He started crying for his longest friend.<p>

R.R. and his command staff stood over the corpse of Red.

"We have a traitor within our ranks," muttered Asano angrily.

"No," R.R. said, "I know what this is."

"You do?"

"Yes. And I also know who did it. But I will deal with it privately."

"Make them suffer," snarled Green, "Whoever is responsible, let justice be painful! Promise me R.R."

"I promise."

_Oh my dear Lucia. It is time._

* * *

><p>"This is it?" asked Ling, appalled.<p>

He was looking through binoculars from a hillside over a mile away. What he saw didn't impress him.

It was just a large concrete slab with windows. That was all there was to say about it. Okay, so the windows were blacked out, disallowing anyone to peer inside. And that was it. No paint. No objects on the side of the building. Just windows and concrete.

"Yep," said Weasel, "The mercenaries couldn't have picked a more boring HQ."

"Makes our job easier," said Grid, "There are snipers on the other rooftops but a silent parachute onto the roof should help avoid that factor."

"When do we hit it?" asked an eager Ling.

"We've managed to charter a plane. So we'll hit it tomorrow night."

* * *

><p>"Despite the recent death of one of our colleagues, Mr Red," said General Asano, "We are on schedule for the rebellion."<p>

"Rise of the bloody Rebellion," muttered Thomas.

"Yes," said R.R., "We have managed to make contact with two admirals and four generals for the upcoming battles. We are also stirring unrest in the settlements and hundreds of Japanese men and women sign up every day. Due to his current mental state, Green will assist the commander of our forces in the west. He leaves tomorrow."

"Who is our commander in the west anyway?" asked Asano.

"A man who would enjoy feeling important," said R.R., smiling.

"Is he qualified?"

"I hope so."

"You're not taking this seriously enough."

"On the contrary general," said R.R., "I am the only one who is truly serious. I recognise talent, and I reward it."

"So our time is close at hand?"

"No. Our time has already come."

* * *

><p>It was around eleven at night and most of the bars were closing down. There were very few customers at this time of night in Balthagron. But one was still drooping over her stool, whiskey in hand, empty bottles on the counter. Many of the greasy old patrons had made advances and they had all fallen around her, scared to death. The bar had emptied quickly. When customers came in they screamed and went out. The bartender dared not stop serving her drinks.<p>

The door swung open and a man walked in. He stopped, gasped and stared at the corpses around the girl with green hair and violet eyes. He then simply smiled and strolled up next to her, walking around the dead. He sat down and ordered;

"Whiskey on the rocks."

The bartender was breaking out in terrifying sweats. He looked at the man like he was mental. But he still served.

"So…" the man began and he turned to the woman, "What's your name?" he asked pleasantly.

The woman grunted and took another swig of alcohol.

The man smiled, "Well, what do you do apart from ruining pubs?"

The girl grunted actual words, "Fuck off."

"Only if you say please."

"Please fuck off."

The man laughed and took a swig of the newly arrived whiskey from a stunned bartender.

"Why are you still here?" the girl asked, a steely edge in her voice.

"Because you're interesting."

"Fuck off."

The man frowned, "You're harsh."

She covered her left eye and turned to look at him with her right.

"If I move my hand, you're dead."

"I'll be careful not to let you drop it then."

She stared at him with one eye. He was young, had jet-black hair and was very handsome.

"You're strange."

"Not as strange as a guy I met earlier. All he did was rant on about euphobia, Pizza Hut and an elephant named Nellie."

"You're very strange."

"Says a green-haired woman who has to cover her left eye to talk to people and is surrounded by corpses."

She smiled for half a second. And that was all the man needed.

"You know," he said, taking another swig, "You still haven't told me your name."

"That's because I don't want it revealed."

"Why? You on the run? From the police? The army? The mafia?

"…the Rebellion?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She whirled around suspiciously, "Why do you ask?" she snapped.

_Ah, so she's from the rebellion_. _Good._

"Well you're a young, beautiful woman so the army's right out. Britannians are chauvinist pigs. Green-hair and wide eyes could make you a druggie, therefore on the run from the police. But I don't think that's the case."

"Why not?" she asked, intrigued and also very drunk.

"Because I have never seen a drug addict take a stiff drink," he said, pointing to the bottles, "And you've had several. This leaves the Mafia or the Rebellion. You are drunk out of your mind, which means that something has gone wrong. However you aren't raving or in a drunken rage which means that the thing that went wrong was your doing. You've made a mistake."

She glared at him.

"You're very drunk and you still haven't revealed your name. This means you're smart. And smart people don't piss off the Mafia. It also isn't smart to get drunk when they're out looking for you. Which means that it can't be the Mafia. This leaves the Rebellion."

She laughed, "Well done. Now I'm going to kill you."

"Why?"

"You know I'm connected to the Rebellion."

"No, I know that you're no longer connected to the Rebellion."

"Eh?"

"Smart girl like you wouldn't be getting this drunk if you had made a simple mistake. You made a big one. One that got you thrown out… no. They wouldn't throw out someone smart. They would kill her to make sure she didn't tell anyone anything important. Smart girls have smart mouths.

"This means you left. You fled. Probably out of fear. Fear of death… no. If you were scared of death then you would be running, not drinking. You're scared of what the Rebellion will think of you. You're scared of all the friends you made will leave. Anyone you love… gone."

She said nothing.

"And you know what I think?" he asked.

"What?" she slurred.

"You killed someone. Accidently. You're surrounded by dead men. You're covering you're left eye. You've got some out-of-control laser implant there… no. These men have no burn marks. No… they look like they've been scared to death."

She just stared at him.

"You are running away from the rebellion because you accidently killed someone. Am I right?"

She stared at him. She stared at him for a long time. Then she turned away.

"Maybe," she said.

"Maybe?" laughed the man, "I was dead on, wasn't I?"

"So?"

"What do you mean 'So?'?"

"As in, so what?"

"Well, now that I know what you are running from, maybe I can help you."

She looked at him again, this time looking deep into the man who sat beside her. All she saw was welcoming arms and a cheery smile. Finally, she smiled back.

"My name's Lucia," Lucia said.

"Amadeus," came the warm reply of the Calikarcha.


	7. Out of the Shadows

Sixteen is up! Warning: contains ninjas, cyborgs, philosophy, swordfights, two gory deaths and awful attempts at humour (but no pet elephant named Nellie). Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16: Out of the Shadows<strong>

The plane glided 30,000 feet above the city. It was pitch-black, like the night around it. As were its five occupants. Two pilots, two killers and one foolish cyborg. All dressed in black. There was not a light in the sky.

"You alright?" asked Weasel as he patted Ling on his shoulder.

Ling nodded, too nervous to answer. Everyone was nervous on their first jump. But Grid and Weasel had done it many times before and neither was scared of anything. Well, Grid was scared of one thing.

"What if that green-haired bitch is there?" he asked as Weasel sat beside him.

"Well, you kill her. Duh."

Grid mumbled something under his breath. He then turned back.

"Are you sure we should be bringing him?"

"Of course. I wouldn't be bringing him if I didn't need him. We need a cyborg on our side."

"No, you're just sick in the head."

"And I'm also smart in the head. So shut up. We'll let him go off and kill the rebel leaders while we take out the rest of them."

"There are probably about three-hundred people in that building."

"Yeah. So?"

"Just one of them killed both Crane and Hyena."

"Yeah but he was one of the leaders wasn't he? And guess who's going off to kill them."

"I see."

"Yeah."

They both sat in silence. The pilot called over the intercom; "TWO MINUTES!"

They both stood up. They waited.

"You do realise Grid that we either kill everyone in that building or we die?"

"…Yeah."

"So. For the school of Ninjutsu."

They hit their knuckles together.

"TEN SECONDS!" the pilot shouted as the hatch lowered. The city could be seen in all its light filled glory.

"Grid?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

"NOW!" roared the pilot.

The three men leaped out the plane and into the starry night.

* * *

><p>They walked together along the waterfront. A green-haired girl with an eye-patch and a man who had killed more people in his lifetime than half the army had.<p>

"So here we are," said Amadeus, "The city of Nagoya. The heart of Japan and the capital of Britannia's influence here. General Natsume and his son Lycris command from there." He pointed at a large citadel near the city centre.

"I've never been to Nagoya before," said Lucia.

"Well it's now more beautiful than ever. The Britannians have renovated the parks, the lakes and the buildings all around the place," he swept his arm around, "So that it reminds them of home."

"Yeah but Japan's freedom was sold for this beauty," murmured Lucia.

"For better education as well. The schools have been reformed to teach the children much better than the Japanese ever did. The old Britannia under Empress Lilia was a sham. Right now she hides on the Damocles that watches over us like a malevolent god."

"And how is a person who fashions himself after a demon emperor better?"

"Because he is not being hypocritical."

"…Explain."

"Emperor Lelouch is a bastard. But he admits that. He calls himself a demon emperor. Whereas Lilia hangs over us with a weapon like Damocles and pretends to fight for world peace. No-one can make peace by fighting. Only by sacrificing."

"Then what does the Emperor fight for?"

"World conquest."

Lucia laughed, "So which is better?"

"Neither."

"So what would you do as Emperor?"

"Abolish the Empire."

She looked at him with her one good eye. "Why?"

"Because we had world peace for three-hundred years thanks to the death of the original demon. No-one can repeat that. We were only united out of hatred for a common foe. Unity out of hatred would only have lasted so long. I'm actually surprised how long it really lasted. People are just too different: culture, creed, language and colour, all these will become factors for a unity of humanity. People distrust other people. That is a fact. If Emperor Lelouch hadn't just charged in and conquered everyone, then everything would have split into different factions."

"So what would you do?"

"I would allow the split. People need to find their own way through life, whether it be the ways of Japan, of Britannia, of any country. People should have the right to choose what they want to be a part of. The three-hundred year peace was forced upon them as was this demon emperor's tyranny."

"But isn't peace good?"

"No. Because peace is an illusion. Peace is the end of conflict. And everyone has conflict within them. Some despise it, like you. Others relish in it, like the Emperor. And some are just too stupid not to see it, like the Empress."

"So what do you make of the conflict in you?"

"I just let it be. Look," he pointed to an ordinary man walking down the road.

"He is just letting it be. He walks down the path, getting on with his life, trying to ignore any feelings of hatred and a lust for war inside of him. Sometimes he's just too ignorant not to see it. He continues on with life, loving someone, marrying, having kids, going to work, sleeping, dying. And he wouldn't care about the conflict in him. And that is just his life."

The man walked on, oblivious to their presence.

"But, Lucia, I'm confused about one thing. If you despise war and hate any feelings for causing life harm, why did you fight with the rebellion?"

Lucia looked down, "Because there are two people there I care about."

"Who?"

"One of them is like a father to me, and the other… I loved the other."

"Ah, so you embraced the conflict within you."

"What? No! I don't want to harm anyone. I didn't want to harm anyone…" she said remembering Red.

"No, of course you didn't. I'm not talking about what you want to do. I'm talking about the most powerful part of the conflict inside of you, taking control of you."

"What part?"

"Fear."

"Fear?"

"Yes, fear. For fear is what makes you mistrust people, dislike people, hate people. Fear created religion, money, war and everything evil in the universe. Think about it. I'll give you an example: You own a dog. You love this dog and cherish this dog and this dog is your whole universe. But a very bitter person kills your dog. Your heart breaks and so you come to a choice: Do you take revenge?"

"No," said Lucia, firmly, "Revenge is wrong because it brings hatred."

"Incorrect. You don't take revenge because you _fear _what might happen if you do. You also _fear _what might happen if you don't take revenge. Fear dictates every action you ever make. You don't marry the person you love because you love him. You marry the person you love because you _fear _that if you don't, then you will never be happy again. This is what made you join the Rebellion, the two people you love. You didn't care one jolt about the Rebellion; you just cared about the people in it. You're a very kind woman. You just feared what would have happened if you weren't close to them. And now you fear what they think of you because of what you have done."

Lucia started to cry. "You're right," she wept.

Amadeus pulled her close to him, "This is why I am here to help you. I once had the option to marry, but I feared it would have been the wrong choice to make, so I didn't. I once ran with a gang, but I feared what would happen if I continued with that life, so I left. I have made as many mistakes as you have. Only worse."

"Please take me home," she whispered through her tears.

"Of course."

They held each other as rain began to fall. They walked on, getting drenched. Amadeus placed his coat around her.

"Amadeus," she whispered, "I… I never knew my mother. I always picture her in my head as a kind and gentle woman. But whenever I dream about her at night, she becomes sinister and laughs at me. Because I have done nothing. And I believe she had done many, many things."

Amadeus just walked on and held her even tighter.

* * *

><p>"Zero?" whispered Amadeus. He was in the bathroom of their hotel room. Lucia was asleep next door.<p>

He could hear some scrambling about in his head. No doubt Zero was trying to find the voice-muffler.

"Y-Yes?" Zero yawned.

"I have learned the location of the Rebel Base from a woman who used to be with them."

"So?" Zero asked, nonplussed.

"S-So?" whispered Amadeus angrily, "I found out where their base is!"

"I already knew where their base was."

Amadeus was stunned. "How?" he asked.

"Well, two ways actually. One of their number is an informant working for General Natsume and Colonel Shimada. He had a tracking device planted on him and we've been following it ever since. The other way was a little more obvious…"

"What?"

"Two crazy ninjas and an idiot cyborg were seen embarking on a plane which was set to fly over the rebel HQ. They dropped about a minute ago. They've almost landed on the roof."

"Wha-What?"

"Oh look, they've landed," said Zero, obviously watching satellite footage of the event.

"Wait, you mean that they're attacking the rebel base NOW?"

"Yep, and so far they've done a good job. Oh look, the cyborg just sent a sentry off the roof…"

"Zero?"

"Yeah, what?"

"You serious?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well… I've got nothing to report now."

"Well then I'm going back to bed," said a grumpy Zero.

The connection cut. Amadeus was left stunned.

* * *

><p>"Die you Britannian bastard!" roared Ling as he crushed another Japanese Rebel with his steel arms.<p>

"I can see why you brought him along," said Grid as he decapitated the last rooftop sentry.

Weasel just grinned in response.

They stood there, five sentries dead and three madmen alive. They looked at the reinforced fire exit.

"Would you be so kind, Ling?" asked Weasel.

"Something's not right here Ryuga," Ling said, "These guys didn't put up a fight and they look Japanese."

"These are just street thugs, hired to provide more protection. About 90% of the guys we'll face will be Japanese. These are mercenaries remember?"

"Uh, right," said Ling as he scratched his half-metallic head.

"Now please open the door."

Ling went up to the fire exit and simply pulled it off its hinges. An alarm went off.

"The shit just hit the fan, Ling. Let's go!"

They ran into the building.

* * *

><p>Raven walked down the corridor, purpose in his steps and fury in his eyes.<p>

R.R. rounded a corner and saw the angry face of Raven.

"Ah," said R.R., knowing what was coming next.

"Where is Lucia? What happened? What did you do to her?" Raven asked with menace.

"Now listen Raven, I don't know-" but he didn't finish, as Raven bundled him up against the wall.

"Don't you dare fucking lie to me! I love her and you will tell me what has happened!"

R.R. stared at him, weighing up his chances. He was immortal but he wasn't strong. Raven could snap him like a twig. And R.R. didn't fancy getting snapped, no matter how many times he could resurrect.

"What do you want to know?" he asked calmly.

"What is that thing she has? The thing with her eye?"

"It is a power called Geass that I bestowed upon her. It allows her to cast illusions of people's most vivid nightmares and kill them with it."

"Why did you give her this?"

"To save her life. She was going to be killed and therefore I gave her that power to live."

"Why didn't you just let her die?"

"…She reminded me of a woman I once knew."

Raven spat with disgust, "So she was just a project? A bloody item of remembrance for you?"

"Yes."

Raven gritted his teeth with fury. "Where is she now?" he asked.

"Nagoya. We found out thanks to Damocles."

"Why is she in Nagoya?"

"Because she accidently killed Red with her Geass. She fled."

Raven was stunned. But he became overcome with anger.

"You bastard. Why did you involve an innocent girl in all this? WHY?"

"Because she wanted to be loved."

They stood, staring each other down.

At last, Raven spoke. "Screw your Rebellion."

"Then go. If you no longer care about this rebellion, then go to Nagoya and help her. She needs you and loves you. Take her with you and go," R.R. said, his cold stare betraying nothing.

The alarm then rang out.

"But first, stay and help us kill the bastards who dare invade here."

* * *

><p>Three guards stared down the dark hallway, rifles at the ready.<p>

"Looks like they disabled the lights, sir," one whispered.

"No shit, Sherlock."

"I only heard it was three guys. How hard can-"

Three shruikens flew down the hallway and embedded themselves in the guard's throats.

"Loose lips, sink ships," Grid said as he walked past his dying victims.

* * *

><p>"Remember guys, they're trained professionals," said Minato as he stood with a ten man squad of armed men. Each rifle was filled sharper slugs designed to slice through body armour. They all had smoke, flash and frag grenades at their belt. They all licked their lips nervously, in preparation for their first battle.<p>

Weasel appeared at the end of the corridor.

"THERE! FIRE!" roared Minato.

The rifles exploded into action as bullet after bullet flew down the corridor. There was a loud popping noise and Weasel was enveloped in smoke.

"KEEP FIRING!"

Spent casings rattled off each other in their competition to see who gravity would favour most and bring to earth faster. The crash of thunder clapped down the corridor. The god of sound would have been pleased, if he had existed.

When they had all ran out of ammunition, they checked down the corridor to see their handiwork. The smoke began to clear.

There were louds of bullet-holes in the wall. Bu there was no dead ninja. There was no ninja at all. Instead, a grille from a ventilation shaft lay on the floor where he had been.

"The ventilation system…" muttered Minato. They all turned upwards to look at the air-duct above them. It was moving. Something was inside it, trying not to make a sound.

"Alright boys," whispered Minato, "Reload and aim upwards."

His men did as they said.

"Alright… FIRE!"

The bullets smashed into the air-duct and tore the thin metal to pieces. Whatever was inside was being torn to pieces.

"CEASE FIRE!"

The air-duct broke open and fell to the ground around them. Its contents were revealed.

An RC car. An armoured RC car. An armoured RC car covered in bullet holes.

"A toy car?" questioned Minato, "Where's the ninja-"

But Weasel had already ran the length of the corridor, his katana in hand, and was upon them.

"NIPPON-BANZAI!"

"OH SHIT!" cried Minato.

The ninja sliced and diced, murdered and slaughtered before the men even had time to reload. His katana flashed through the air and coated itself in blood. Gore splashed the walls, floor and ceiling. Finally, only Minato was left. He was shakily trying to reload his rifle.

"W-w-wait, w-wait."

The ninja approached him.

Minato slammed the clip home and aimed his rifle.

"Sayonara, you son-of-a-bitch!" he roared.

He fired and the bullets headed straight towards the ninja, who was no more than three feet in front of him.

Minato could only stand in shock, firing, as the ninja twirled his blade around faster than lightning. The bullets simply bounced, glanced or slided off the twirling blade. The ninja kept it up for eight seconds. Then Minato's gun ran out of ammo.

"You forgot something," said the ninja, "I'm a motherfucking ninja."

"A-a-a-a-a-ah-"

"But congratulations! You made my arms tired. That's the closest anyone's ever come to killing me."

He then raised the katana and brought it down on Minato's head, shearing it in half.

"Damn, I'm good," said Weasel.

* * *

><p>Ling dodged into a shadow as more men came running around the corner. They passed by, not seeing him.<p>

_I need to find them, _he thought to himself, _the bastards that murdered innocents just so that they could get at the rebels. I need to know what goes on in their heads and find out why they did it._

_And then justice will be dealt out._

* * *

><p>"What's happening in Balthagron?" asked General Asano.<p>

"Don't have a fucking clue," replied his aide, Lieutenant Goro.

* * *

><p>"What's happening in Balthagron?" asked General Natsume.<p>

"Don't have a fucking clue," replied Colonel Shimada.

* * *

><p>"What's happening in Balthagron?" asked an impatient Emperor Lelouch.<p>

"Don't have a fucking clue," replied a tired Zero, "Something about rogue ninjas and gullible cyborgs."

* * *

><p>"I wonder what's happening in Balthagron," wondered Lucia.<p>

"Don't have a clue," lied Amadeus.

* * *

><p>Raven turned a corner and saw a shadowy figure in the centre of the communications room.<p>

"Hey!"

The ninja turned round.

"Ah," said Grid, "You again."

"I recognise your voice," Raven snarled, "You gave me quite the scar."

"I would have cut deeper, if your girlfriend hadn't interfered."

"Shut up."

"There's no green-haired bitch to save you now."

"SHUT UP!"

They stared at each other as Raven walked into the large room.

"Only one of us is leaving alive," Raven said.

"I concur," Grid replied and raised his arm.

Raven dodged to the right as a shruiken launched itself from a hidden holder, the star missing him by millimetres and shooting down the hallway. Raven drew his sword and charged while Grid drew his katana.

Their blades crashed in the middle of the room and broke away. Raven made a feint but the ninja saw through it and stabbed viciously, almost drawing blood. Raven backed away as the ninja ducked, weaved, feinted, stabbed and slashed. Raven kept falling back with Grid following him pace for pace. Grid leapt into the air and brought his sword down, but Raven raised his up to stab through him. But the ninja had feinted and twirled in mid-air to smack his sword against Raven's to send it clattering away. He then launched three knives from hidden pouches, two of which Raven dodged and the third he caught. He threw it back as he rolled to collect his sword. Grid simply batted the knife away with his sword while walking towards his target.

Raven parried wildly as the ninja advanced, his sword cutting the air in two and slicing Ravens breath from him as he missed a head cut. Grid then executed a brilliant double-feint before sliding his blade over Raven's and drawing blood on his shoulder before rolling under Raven's counterattack.

"Hah!" called the ninja, "First Blood!"

Grid pressed his advantage, side-stepping, whirling in brilliant swordsmanship, spinning his blade through the air like a sling. He made another elaborate double-feint but Raven countered with a stop-thrust which nick the torso of the ninja. Raven smiled.

Grid launched a furious attack, spinning and slashing while Raven backed away, his legs starting to weaken, counter-thrusting all the way. Another shruiken launched out of nowhere and pain flared in Raven's left shoulder as it struck and stayed there. He didn't even have time to remove it as Grid continued his unstoppable attacks.

* * *

><p>Amadeus watched over the sleeping form of Lucia.<p>

_Now, what do I do with you?_

He found his pistol in his bag. He also found his silencer.

_There really is no point in keeping you alive._

He attached the silencer.

_Apparently everything is going well up north while I'm stuck here babysitting a whiny woman._

He aimed his gun at her head.

_This is goodbye._

* * *

><p>"<em>I… I never knew my mother."<em>

Amadeus gripped his pistol even tighter.

"_I always picture her in my head as a kind and gentle woman. But whenever I dream about her at night, she becomes sinister and laughs at me."_

Amadeus sighed.

_My mother just drank all day and was beaten by my father by night. But she never met her mother._

Amadeus placed the gun back.

_You deserve to meet her. You, the most innocent person in this game, deserve that at least._

* * *

><p>"Where the fuck is Minato?" asked Shinto, "He hasn't called in yet."<p>

"I don't know where your idiot brother is, Shinto," said R.R.

"I want to know where my daughter is," Thomas said angrily.

"Calm down Mr Kaname, please," said Roy trying to help keep the peace.

Shinto almost shouted, "Call for backup from Asano!"

"We can't," replied R.R.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because we're not alone."

They all spun around to see a Chinese cyborg standing in the doorway, machine-gun in hand.

"And what does China want here?" asked R.R. calmly.

"I do not fight for a destroyed nation."

"Then who do you fight for?"

"The Rebellion."

R.R. frowned, "What do you mean?"

"The same Rebellion you butchered along with all those other innocents," said Ling as he raised his machine-gun, "Why did you do it?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked an angry Shinto.

"Be careful," warned Roy, "This one's unhinged."

"I'm not unhinged," replied the cyborg, "I see more clearly than ever now. I see the murder in all your eyes. You," he pointed at R.R., "I see the madness in your gaze. I see your grand schemes, your maniacal ambitions. It shows like a demon upon your face. You will all pay now."

"We have done nothing wrong!" cried Thomas and stared directly into Ling's two completely different eyes.

Ling hesitated. He looked back into the kind old man's eyes.

"I… I read the truth."

"Because it is the truth! We have done noth-"

A knife flew through the air and entered the left eye of Kaname Thomas. It drove back into his brain and killed him instantly.

Ling whirled around to see the black figure of Weasel staring down at him, his arm outstretched.

"Good job Ling!" he said, "You've found the mercenary leaders! Wipe them out before they get their silver tongues in your brain!"

Ling turned back to the men in the room. They were all staring in shock at Thomas's body.

"I… I…"

"What are you doing? Kill them now!"

But Ling only saw the innocent man, dead on the floor.

"Oh for fucks sake. Looks like I'll have to do it myself!" said Weasel and he strode towards the three men, katana in hand.

But an arm blocked his way.

"No."

Ling stood, seeing the truth for the first time.

"These aren't mercenaries. These are the rebels!"

Weasel swore and swung his katana around to decapitate the cyborg. But a metallic arm smacked the sword away and gripped Weasel's fist. It started to crush.

Weasel screamed and let loose a barrage of shruikens. They sliced through the fleshy torso of Ling but he kept his hand crushing the fist of Weasel. Eventually, there was nothing but paste in Ling's hand.

Weasel began to weep as Ling took his head in both his metal hands. As Weasel's skull began to cave in he let loose one last, nasal taunt.

"I played you like fiddle. You are nothing but machine underneath."

And then Weasel's brain became soup, and Ling broke down and cried.

* * *

><p>Raven and Grid locked swords together once again. Raven had cuts all over him and he was drooling blood from his mouth. Grid had only three cuts, but they were all on his face. One of his eyes was weeping blood. Raven still had the shruiken in his shoulder.<p>

They broke away and Raven was forced to parry like a madman to avoid being hit by Grid's ferocious strikes. Their blades bound and disengaged, feinted, thrust, parried, riposted. They fought a sword god's battle. But Raven was still backing up, still losing ground, his legs like jelly.

But then he dropped his sword and charged.

Grid never saw it coming. He was then sprawled out and his katana flung away. Raven started to land punch after punch on him. He then wrapped his hands around Grid's throat. As Grid began to choke, he reached up and pushed the shruiken in Raven's shoulder further in. Raven screamed as he choked the ninja and removed his hands to take away the shruiken. It was all the ninja needed. He pulled his hand back and launched another shruiken from his wrist-launcher, aimed straight at Raven's face. Raven moved his head to the right but it wasn't enough. He screamed in pain as the shruiken sliced his left ear off.

Grid knocked Raven off him and got on top. He then started to punch Raven repeatedly in the face. Raven scrambled around, trying to find a weapon, any weapon to fight with. As he started to lose life he found something soft and wet. He brought it up and stuffed it into Grid's panting mouth. Grid stopped punching Raven to stop him from forcing something down his throat and Raven leaped up to grapple around Grid's mouth. Grid's arms gave way due to the slippery blood all around him and Raven stuffed the soft thing down Grid's throat. Grid grabbed his throat as he started to choke. He fell back onto the bloody floor and broke out in spasms. Then suddenly, his life left him.

It was only then, as Raven looked at the mess around him, that he realised how he had killed Grid. He had choked the ninja to death with Raven's own severed ear.

Bloody, bruised and battered from the toughest battle of his life, Raven got up and walked away. He walked out of the building and walked to the nearest train station. To get a ticket to Nagoya.

* * *

><p>Emperor Lelouch had a bad night.<p>

He dreamed he was on top of the world. Literally. He stood upon the North Pole. He was massive. He reached out and touched the moon. He laughed at the Earth beneath his feet. His Earth. He ruled all here.

But there was something wrong. There was someone standing on the South Pole. He couldn't bend over to see who it was. But neither would he move. He was scared of the figure on the South Pole. He didn't want to see who it was. But that didn't matter, because the figure came to him.

It crawled across continents and slid over oceans. It came before him and looked him in the eye. Lelouch stood there, shaking with fear. For before him, was a demon.

"HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME!" it roared. And then it laughed.

All Lelouch could do was fall on his knees and beg for his life.

But then it was revealed that Lelouch, the demon, the moon and the planet Earth were in someone else's hand. But no matter how hard Lelouch and the demon looked, they could not find the owner of the hand.

And then he woke up.

He immediately called Zero.

"What is it?" asked his grumpy and tired second-and-command.

"I… What is happening in Balthagron?"

"Don't have a fucking clue."

"THEN FIND OUT! I AM YOUR EMPEROR!"

He heard a grumbling in his brain.

"Oh shit…"

"What is it Zero?"

"There's a storm coming."

* * *

><p>"We have waited too long."<p>

Roy stood with him.

"We wasted too much time."

Asano stood with him.

"We became too lenient."

Ling stood with him.

"And we paid for it."

Fiona wept over the corpse of her father.

"We paid for it dearly."

Shinto wept over the corpse of his dead brother.

"But no more! We will no longer hide!"

Across the nation, people took arms.

"We will come out of the shadows and fight! We have paid too much to get here! Now is the time to strike!"

Across the nation, people stood with him.

"We will stand together! We shall fight together! We shall march!"

They came together from all four corners. They came to hear his call.

"Now the Rebellion will rise!

"Now we will fight for Japan!"

And the Rebellion rose.


	8. The Rebel Speaker

**Chapter 17: The Rebel Speaker**

So spread the news!

Spread the news of courage. Spread the news of hope. Spread the news of freedom and liberty.

Spread the news of rebellion!

We march. We march as ants against elephants. We march as the wave against the shore. We march as one people. Your creed. Your colour. Your feuds. Forget them! We are one people, one nation, one heart of pride! We are the land. We are the sky. We are the waters. We are the cities. We are the towns. We are the hills. We are the stone. We are the air.

We are one!

We march. We march south from the lands of the north. Hokkaido and Ou-sanmyaku. Lands of barren wastes and death valleys. Lands of starved people and forgotten soldiers. Lands of old kings and lost lords. Lands twisted and torn by the bastard invaders. From these lands we march, routing the invaders, burning their cities. The hated city of Balthagron has been razed to the ground and Sapporo has been restored to its former glory!

* * *

><p>"General!" screamed Lieutenant Goro.<p>

Fire scorched down around them as shells and bullets erupted the ground in upheavals of dirt and shit. Jets screamed overhead and missiles tore tanks and planes apart in a celestial beauty of pyro. Thousands of men fought in the battle that destroyed the landscape and smashed the Earth.

"We almost have them!" General Asano shouted back.

He could see sections of the Britannian forces breaking. He could see them turn tail and be shot in the back as his troops charged forward. The guns were louder than the wrath of a god of thunder and were twice as deadly. Men fell in droves every second and a thousand spent chambers rattled on the ground. The area around Sendai would be there's.

And then the Britannians started to retreat. They ran, they cowered, they begged. None were spared.

"Come, Goro!" cried Asano in wild glory, "LET US SMITE THE BASTARD BRITANNIANS!"

* * *

><p>We march. We march from the sea of our country. Waves clogged with the faeces of the invaders slave ships and rotten cruisers. Waves owned by their awful machinations of death. Waves now conquered by our great ships will be rid of all the invading shit that once dominated our beautiful seas! The once great port of Niigata will be filled with our ships again!<p>

* * *

><p>"Sir! The <em>Old Prince Schneizel <em>is capsizing!"

"We have seven hull breaches near the stern!"

"Men are trapped down there! They're drowning!"

Admiral Garrus tried to look through the wind-swept windows of the bridge. The storm lashed the side of the _Malevolent Fury _as rain came down about them. Explosions and roars of fire could be seen and heard in the distance. Fighter jets flew around the great sea battlefield, launching missiles into the sides of the mighty battleships and AEGIS cruisers. Bombers the size of football fields unloaded thousands of pounds of destruction upon every ship below them, whether they be friend or foe.

"Turn us about!" roared the old Admiral, "We can't fight in this weather!"

Through the lightning and thunder, a jet span out of control and screamed towards them.

"Too late!" shouted a helmsman.

The jet smashed into the bridge and exploded, destroying and killing everything around it.

* * *

><p>We march. We march east from the lands of the west. Encroaching jungles have overridden our once great cities: Hiroshima, Kumamoto, Fukuoka, they have all been strangled by the forests planted by our invaders. They creep through the jungle in the dead of night. They come to take your sons and daughters and force them to fight for their side or work in the steel and iron factories. They will crush without remorse and destroy without regret. So we have risen up from the slums of Kita-Kyushu. For the first time in over three hundred years the isles of Kyushu and Shikoku have united against the threat of the ruling Britannia. We shall rise up. We shall march west. And we shall conquer Osaka!<p>

* * *

><p>"Who are you?" asked Green.<p>

"Oh, nobody important."

"You're in charge of all the forces marching east! You're vitally important!"

"Well, since you put it like that… yes I am very important."

"So what's your name?" asked Green grumpily.

"Oh, that's not important."

"Why?" asked Green exasperatingly, "Why were you chosen to lead our entire western force?"

"Dunno. Obviously R.R. saw something in me. I was just a rebel truck driver before this."

"Grrr. What's your name?"

"Why?"

"So that I will remember you."

"Oh… in that case… Liam. My name is Liam."

"Liam? That's… an ordinary name."

"Yeah. I'm an ordinary person."

"Well it's good to have you on board Liam."

"JESUS CHRIST!"

"Wha-What?"

"Don't scare me like that!"

* * *

><p>We march. We march into the skies. We ascend to dance with angels. We ascend to dance with demons. We dance a dance of death. We will fly as high as an eagle and strike as fast as a falcon. We have even resurrected the once great battleship <em>Ikaruga <em>from the museum in Shinomaki. It will lead our aerial battle-fleet up against the deadly aerial command-cruiser _Lord of Light_. But they do not march alone. On top of the sky reigns the impregnable orbital battle-station and current headquarters of our beautiful Empress Lilia, the _Damocles_. No matter where you are in our country, whether it be the west, the east, the north, the sky or beyond the stars: You never fight alone.

* * *

><p>A thousand fighters spun through the air, trying to outmanoeuvre each other in order to survive and to kill. They danced through the air in an array of beautiful and deadly moves, as if they were rehearsing for a grand ballet. But in the centre of these smoke contrails and dizzying flights roamed the huge, lumbering aerial battleships. In the centre flew the <em>Ikaruga <em>against the _Lord of Light_. The Britannian ship was three times as big.

"Holy shit," whispered the first-mate.

"There is no such thing as intimidation," said Grand-Admiral Misora, "Just what you think is intimidation."

"Yes ma'am!"

_Come on!_ the Grand-Admiral thought to herself, _Where is the Damocles? Where is Benny's big laser__?_

A voice rang out in her head.

"Hellooooooooo! Glad to see you!" came Benny's care-free voice.

"BENNY! WHERE THE FUCK IS MY LASER? THAT SHIP IS BEARING DOWN ON US!"

"Ok, ok, calm down! The _Lord of Light _is about to be lit up!"

There was a flash of light that was immediately countered the black-sun filters fitted to the windows on the _Ikaruga_. The light seared through the Britannian flagship. It burned, scorched and incinerated everything it touched. It hit the mountains below them and set them alight. For a while, nothing happened.

Then the _Lord of Light _began to shift. It shook. It stirred. It split. And then it shattered into two pieces. They fell, crashing down to Earth, bleeding smoke.

The bridge of the _Ikaruga _erupted into cheers.

* * *

><p>We march. We march from the east. A land with a history of blood and warfare. A land dominated by a seat of power that is Tokyo. A city that was once the central point of the glorious rebellion led by a long-ago Zero. Now it holds one of our keys to the door of victory. It stands tall, arm outstretched, ready to rend every foe caught in its inescapable grasp. It will tower over them and stand with us. We will stand together under the majesty of the Guren MKII. And we shall rule from our forgotten capital!<p>

* * *

><p>Dressed in crimson armour. Drenched in memories of forgotten battles. An icon of liberation. The force of a typhoon. An avatar of war itself. The grand spectacle of this once great machine, held humbly in a shoddy building.<p>

Roy stared up at it. He gazed at his family's once great suit of power. It leered like a metallic god. It reflected the torchlight in the night. A nightmare incarnate. A Knightmare. How fitting.

Roy felt for the key around his neck and looked down at it. He then looked back to the towering deity of destruction.

"I've only ever practised on simulators…" he whispered.

"Those same simulators scored you at 93% efficiency," said R.R. behind him, "There is no-one better."

Roy looked down at the key again. "I will make sure not to disappoint you grandmother," he said to himself.

"Come now," smiled R.R., "Your destiny awaits you." He noted the sounds of the battle for Tokyo behind him.

"Then let's begin."

* * *

><p>We march.<p>

We march from the north, east, west, sky and sea. We march as one. We march as a free people. We march together.

So spread the news!

We march as Japan!

* * *

><p>They stood. Thousands upon thousands of troops. Hundreds upon hundreds of armoured vehicles. A thousand machines flew through the sky. A billion bullets shared. And at their head stood their majestic crimson king of war, the Guren.<p>

Something opened on its back. Its wings outstretched. R.R.s voice boomed out.

"We march."

The energy wings activated. Roy gripped the controls.

"We stand together."

The Guren raised its right arm to the heavens.

"We fight as one."

The Guren ascended from the ranks, to the stares of thousands.

"We."

The Guren stopped in mid-air.

"What are we?"

The Guren stared out at the city of Nagoya, where General Natsume and his troops awaited.

"We are Japan!"

The thousands tensed.

"And now Japan calls upon you to…"

The Guren pulled its arm down, to aim at the city.

"…CHARGE!"

And the great battle of Nagoya began.

* * *

><p>In the wise words of Michael Buffer...<p>

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The Battle of Nagoya is up at the weekend!


	9. The Monster called 'Loyalty'

**Chapter 18: The Monster called 'Loyalty'**

_Far away, from the land of our birth  
><em>_We'll fly a flag in some foreign earth  
><em>_We'll sail away like our fathers before  
><em>_These colours don't run, from cold-blooded war_

Ling walked, as if in a trance, through the rubble and dust. Debris was strewn around him. The smoke was beginning to lift, as the echoes of gunfire rattled in his half-metal head. He still remembered every detail of the fighting, every last shot of adrenaline, every last whiff of boiled blood, smoking skin, charred corpse. He remembered the building exploding below him, the sounds of battle around him and the sky raining artillery above him.

Ling walked, as if in a trance.

* * *

><p><em>The previous night…<em>

"R-5, move to the west and ambush the infantry in the basement."

"G-3, destroy the fourth floor of the red building to the north-north-east."

"Q-2, wipe out those Havocs."

"Yes sir!" called Roy, and surged the Guren forward. The Britannian Havocs didn't last long.

"T-7, fire 15 metres through the wall."

"But we won't hit anything!"

_Grrr. How many times…?_

"Just do as I say."

"…

"…oh wow it really worked!"

"Well done. Now move onto Objective B-16."

R.R. stood in the forward command post, General Asano at his side and his command staff around him.

"I've never seen someone more tactically astute then you, R.R.," said Asano.

"Your compliment is welcome, but unneeded General."

"Although you could learn to be a bit more humble and respect those older than you."

"Older than me?" R.R. smiled, "Oh General, you have no idea."

Asano was about to ask him what he meant but he was interrupted.

"Why hello!" came Benny's voice over the intercom, "You called for me?"

"Yes Benny, I need you to use the Damocles laser on a fortified position in Nagoya."

"Humph," Benny puffed, "You have yet to pay up on any of your dessert debts…"

"Now is not the time."

"Alright, alright. Send me the coordinates."

Three minutes later, a great beam of light incinerated a bunker and everyone in it.

* * *

><p>Ling had found the body of a woman.<p>

She might have been pretty once. You couldn't tell now, as half her face had been blown away by shrapnel. Bones stuck out of her rotting flesh. Her lips had flies swarming over them. Her teeth were blackened and bent. Her hair had been burnt off. But the other side of her face spoke a different story. Her remaining mouth was twisted into an almost human smile. Her teeth shone with inner radiance, her ear was a small, soft little thing. Her remaining eye was beautiful. The amber-brown colour hadn't left, and gazed up at him with sadness. It looked like rare honey. It was beautiful. A crow came down and pecked at the flesh of that remaining eye.

Ling had found the body of a woman.

* * *

><p><em>Two weeks ago…<em>

Lucia woke up.

The beds were soft and the satin sheets felt luxurious. She moved her body around, having not felt this comfortable in ages. In fact, it might have been the most comfortable she had ever felt. She looked around but couldn't see Amadeus anywhere. His bed was empty and already made. She hadn't met anyone as smart as Amadeus before. He seemed to peer right into your mind, right into your soul. But he never raised his voice and always wanted to make anyyone else feel better. She didn't even know why he had helped her.

Lucia got up, her green-hair flowing around her. She looked around and saw a note on the fridge.

_Gone out to get milk and proper food._

_Back in 15! _

_A._

She smiled and moved to put some clothes on. There was a knock at the door.

She rushed to get a robe on and almost forgot her eye-patch in her rush to open the door.

"Welcome back!" she exclaimed as she opened the door.

Raven stood there, bloody bandage around his head, covered in cuts.

"Raven!" she almost screamed.

He fell forward and Lucia had to half catch him to keep him steady. She helped drag him to the bed and laid him down.

"My god! What happened to your ear?"

He coughed blood.

Lucia was smarter than to just stand around in shock. She immediately ran to the bathroom and took everything she found in the medicine cabinet before landing it all on the bed.

"Ok then, antibiotics and bandages first right? Oh shit, I hope I can remember first aid…"

* * *

><p>Ling looked at the hotel that once held the two lovers. Rather he looked at its ruin.<p>

It was now an empty shell of a building, a wreck. It had been half-destroyed by artillery and missiles. Ling remembered how Havocs had made a counter-attack and crawled all over the building, charging in to clear out the rebels. It had been a massacre. But then the Guren had arrived and had destroyed the Havocs with ease. It had used its right hand to roast them like popcorn. The Britannians had then bombed the building to try to crush the Knightmare underneath it. It had simply blown its way out the rubble. And the battle had continued.

Ling looked at the hotel.

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes after her hash of a job at first aid, Raven sat up, feeling better. Three hundred years had improved medical science to amazing levels even in improper hands. Eventually Raven found his tongue.<p>

"It… It took… a long time… to find you," he gasped.

"What happened to your ear? It's missing!"

"That… that bastard ninja took it with him to the grave."

"You fought those ninjas again?" Lucia said shocked.

"Only one. Tough bastard."

"Do you feel better?"

"…A bit."

They looked at each other.

"God, I missed you."

They bent in to kiss each other. When they parted, Raven looked questioningly at her.

"The eye-patch?" he asked.

"Oh," Lucia said, and looked away. "I… I killed Red," she sobbed.

"I know. With your Geass."

Lucia whirled on him. "How do you know?" she asked, shocked.

"R.R. told me everything. Listen Lucia: I don't care."

"W-What?"

"I've turned my back on the Rebellion as well. It doesn't matter what we've done, only what we're going to do."

"What about Britannia? What about R.R.?"

"We'll go our own way. We'll run away together. Both of us. I know people in Osaka who can get us a ship out of here."

"Oh, Raven…"

As they moved in for another kiss, Amadeus waited outside, hearing every word.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Ling!"<p>

Ling turned to look behind him. Shinto was standing there.

"What is it?"

"R.R. wants to speak with you at the citadel." The disgust in his voice was audible.

"I'm coming."

He began the long walk back. He passed the hotel that once held the two lovers. He passed the body of the woman (the crow finally got its fleshy prize and flew away with it). He passed the area where he had stood with fellow rebels and fought the bloodiest battle of the war.

* * *

><p>In an alleyway at the back of the hotel, Amadeus opened his private terminal to Zero.<p>

"Zero?"

"Amadeus. Emperor Lelouch is listening to your report too."

"Well, listen Zero, you know that Geass you ranted on about with immortality and shit. That girl apparently has it."

There was silence.

"Zero?"

"Take her to Kyoto. I'll await her there."

"You're coming to Japan?"

"Yes."

Amadeus brushed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Ah, well, you won't believe what happened…"

"What?" Even with the voice-muffler, there was obvious steel in Zero's tone.

"A guy kind of came in and swept her off her feet…"

"So? Take care of it."

"They're already on the move."

"Then kill the man and kidnap the girl. Understood?" ordered the Emperor.

"…understood."

* * *

><p>Ling stood outside the grand citadel.<p>

It was a vast, imposing structure, filled with gun ports and missile hatches. The huge, bleak walls caused the incredibly tall structure to cast a huge shadow over the rest of the city. Its undeniable glory had been dented by the massive holes in it. They pockmarked the whole structure, like mouse holes. R.R. had placed his command at the top.

Ling stood outside the grand citadel. And walked in.

* * *

><p>"How many are there?" roared General Natsume.<p>

"Numbers are sketchy sir," replied Colonel Shimada, "But at least in the many thousands."

"Fuck!"

"Lycris is doing well with the 4th Mechanised on the right. But Colonel Drake is being beat back on the left. The Guren is wrecking his position."

"Send in the 9th Armoured Battalion along with the 58th Bomber Wing under Major Oda!" shouted Natsume.

Lycris's voice came through the intercom.

"We've got a problem Daddy!"

"Shut up with that! What's the problem?"

"The guys we're facing have some sort of cloaking field. They can turn themselves invisible!"

"Oh shit."

"Exactly! We need some reinforcements, oh most benevolent father!"

Natsume grinded his teeth in frustration.

"Send in Gallegos Havoc Squadron! How the fuck are we losing?"

* * *

><p>"Ah," said R.R., watching the massive screens in front of him, "I didn't expect them to be so foolish."<p>

"They're reinforcing both their flanks!" observed Asano.

"Exactly. Now we move the Guren to the centre and break through.

"Q-2, move a mile south and then charge through the centre."

"Yes sir."

R.R. looked at his plan folding into motion.

"And now, I call check."

* * *

><p>The Guren raced forward. Five Havocs sprang to meet it.<p>

The first was torn in half by a superb slash-harken shot, while a second was grabbed by the Gurens huge right hand. The Radiant Wave Surger took effect and the Havoc was pretty much microwaved. The metal expanded, wires short-circuited, joints welded together. The massive pressure then caused the Havoc to explode into ash and dust. The three remaining crab-machines attached themselves to the Gurens legs, attempting to claw their way inside at the vital wiring.

"Oh no, you don't!" shouted Roy.

He moved his legs about, trying to shake the horrible things off. One of them slid under his foot.

"Aha!"

He stomped down, repeatedly, until the Havoc was nothing but a wreck of twisted metal. The remaining two climbed up his body. He grabbed one with his right hand and, not bothering to waste energy, simply crushed it. The remaining one jumped up and landed on the Gurens head. It started to claw its way inside in an attempt to get at the pilot inside, much like a predator would tear away the skin to get at the juicy meat. Roy attempted to shake it off and grab it, but it was too quick, too clingy, to get off. In the end, Roy decided to shoot upwards. The Guren launched into the air and kept going. The Havoc gripped harder. Then, suddenly, Roy did a nose-dive and fell head-first towards the ground. The Guren was going so fast, that the Havoc didn't even have time to disengage its claws before it smashed into the ground. Roy flipped the Guren face up and flew towards the front lines.

* * *

><p>"Sir, Gallegos squadron has been destroyed!" cried Colonel Shimada.<p>

"What? By who?"

"The Knightmare! It's heading straight towards us!"

* * *

><p>Empress Lilia and Benny surveyed the battle from the huge screens on-board Damocles.<p>

"All that destruction," Lilia whispered, "All that death…"

"Remember," said Benny, "It was your wish, Empress."

Lilia balled her hands into fists. "I know. And we will win," she said, her voice cast-iron, "And we will we have peace. Under me."

* * *

><p>R.R. surveyed the carnage on his screen.<p>

_I hope that Raven got to Lucia. I pray to god that she's safe._

Lelouch smiled.

_How ironic. The demon praying to God._

* * *

><p>Ling walked up the stairs of the citadel to the next elevator. The building was so massive and the battle had destroyed most of the elevators, so that it was incredibly hard to try to get to the top. But this didn't worry Ling much; one of his legs was metal and never tired. But it did take time. And they were wasting time in Nagoya. They needed to move on Kyoto soon. Otherwise Britannia would send reinforcements and no doubt the Lancelot. Ling's blood boiled when he thought of that infernal machine. He would pay Zero back, no matter what.<p>

Until then, Ling walked up the stairs of the citadel to the next elevator.

* * *

><p>"Colonel Drake and Major Oda have been killed! Lycris has been wounded! Our flanks are falling!"<p>

"And all the while the Guren gets closer…" muttered Natsume.

"Sir?"

"What is it Shimada?"

"Sir, we need to retreat."

Natsume stared at his aide. "What?"

"We can't win this battle sir. We need to fall back to Kyoto and Osaka."

Natsume felt the rage inside him begin to flow.

"How dare you!" he shouted, "You, my closest ally and friend, dare ask me to retreat from the rebels I swore to destroy!"

"I'm not saying we give up. We just have to fall back-"

"NO! We will not run from this pathetic rabble! We will stand and fight! Do not move Shimada or I will take your head."

Shimada stared with cold fury at his General.

"Now Colonel, we will destroy these rebels, or we will die trying."

"I see."

* * *

><p>Lycris slew the last Mirage trooper in his way before seeing the exit to the city. His blade was coated in blood.<p>

"What do we do now sir?" asked one of his men.

There were only four of them now. The Mirage units had taken their toll and wiped out most of Lycris's troops. They hadn't even needed the Guren. Lycris was still bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. But thanks to the genetic modifications the Emperor bestowed upon him, it would be a long time before he passed out.

"Now we make a run for it," Lycris said.

"B-but sir! What about Nagoya and your father?"

"Hah! Screw Nagoya! Screw Natsume!" Lycris shouted.

"What about Britannia…?"

"Screw my country, I wanna live!"

And so they made their way towards the exit.

* * *

><p>Ling waited outside the door to the command chamber. He had been called up but he could hear heavy discussion behind the door. Eventually R.R. said something and the argument was ended. General Asano came out the door, fury etched on his face. He looked derisively at Ling and snorted, before continuing down the corridor.<p>

"Come in," came the voice of R.R.

Ling stood up and entered R.R.s command room.

It was a gloomy and sordid affair. The Guren had wrecked a part of the wall, which was now covered with plastic sheeting. There was rubble all over the floor, yet to be picked up, and all but one of the desks had been overturned. The one that hadn't been tipped had a person sitting behind it.

R.R.s mauve eyes watched Ling like an eagle. He stared resolutely at the cyborg, as if piercing his brain with that menacing stare. It felt like the man was reading all his secrets, all his hidden doubts and fears.

Ling stood a metre away from the desk. There was nothing on it.

"So Ling," R.R. began, "What happened at the Jinsha Jiang River?"

Ling's blood boiled at the memory.

"Our forces were winning. I was assigned to the 44th Shock Dragoons. They were on the run. We had captured many of their supply dumps. But then the Lancelot arrived. Zero wiped us out with the VARIS. He just shot over and over again. Our tanks were annihilated and our armoured vehicles reduced to ash. He crushed the common soldier under his feet. The Lancelot wiped out three divisions that day. Apparently, I was one of 23 survivors. Out of 50,000," he trembled with rage at the memory of his comrades dying around him and rubble, suffocating.

"So what is it that you want?" asked R.R., his cold stare leaving Ling witless.

"Revenge."

"Is there anything else to live for?"

"No."

"So that's why you joined the rebellion."

"Yes, and I swear to you once again, those ninjas tricked me-"

"Yes, you've told us that many times," R.R. waved it off, "I'm just still not sure whether I should trust you or not."

"Sir, my loyalty is undying-"

"Ah! You see that's the whole point," R.R. said and stood up, "Loyalty. It is the greatest thing ever achieved by man."

"Sir?"

"A long time ago, there were two factions I was involved with." R.R. walked over to the plastic sheeting and moved it with his hand to look out over Nagoya. "One was a group of terrorists I led. The other was a man who hated my guts.

"Those terrorists followed me like cattle. They were loyal. I gave them victory after victory, miracle after miracle," he chuckled mirthlessly, "And they stabbed me in the back. After all I had done for them. The rats. I barely got out alive. Ironic though, that the person who saved me was immensely loyal, but I hated with a passion.

"While the man who hated my guts, who I mocked and jeered, he became my most loyal soldier. He followed me right to the bitter end. He waited 300 years for my return and eventually I found him again. He then died in his sleep a while later. He became loyal to me while betraying the country he loved."

Ling didn't know what to say.

"You see what I'm saying," R.R. said as he turned back to look at Ling, "Loyalties can shift at any time, for any person, for any country, for any cause, for any reason. But without loyalty there can be no foundation for anything you want to last. Without loyalty, we are nothing."

Ling said nothing.

"So… what would you do Ling, if immeasurable power was handed to you?"

"Well, uh…"

"Because, you see Ling," R.R. said, his voice turning dark, "I would take that power. I would backstab anyone I knew and loved for that power. I would go to the ends of the Earth and back again to claim what I wanted.

"So what would you do, Ling?"

Ling stared hard back at R.R. "Honestly sir… I would take it as well."

R.R. stared at him. He looked deep into his heart and soul. Ling gulped.

"Ling, if you had answered any other way I would have had you killed."

"W-w-what sir?"

"Because you were honest. And the first sign of true loyalty is honesty."

R.R. walked up to him. Ling was spellbound.

"Welcome to the Rebellion. And thank you."

"For what sir?"

"For your help last night."

* * *

><p>Fire blazed. Missiles screamed. Guns roared with thunder, flashed with lightning.<br>Ling took cover along with his squad in a ruined building. A stray bullet ricocheted off of his half-metal head. The soldiers looked at him, worried.

"Don't worry guys!" he shouted over the din of battle. He used the communicator in his head.

"R.R. sir!"

"What is it H-9?"

"Sir, we are outside the Citadel! We are pinned down!"

"You made it that far? Well done H-9."

"We could really use some support sir!"

"Of course. Help is already on the way."

"Sir?"

And then the Guren appeared and smashed its way into the Citadel.

* * *

><p>"Y-y-you b-bastard…"<p>

Shimada stood over Natsume, a bullet lodged in the General's gut.

"I'm very sorry Calaghar," Shimada said, referring to the General's first name, "I truly am."

"F-fuck you…"

"I wish it didn't have to be this way," Shimada said sadly, "But I wish to live and bear guilt rather than die in a foolish suicide move. In all the years I've known you, I thought you would act smart and retreat. But I see you have changed for the worse. This is where we part ways then.

"Goodbye, General Calaghar Natsume."

And so the Colonel left his General bleeding on the floor of his own control room. And made good his escape.

* * *

><p>Five minutes later, and General Natsume had managed to prop himself onto his desk.<p>

_Loyalty, _he thought, _such__ a horrible little word._

And then the Guren burst in.

It looked like a damned demon of war. Its red frame looked like blood in the poor light of the control room. Its right hand glistened with a different type of red.

"Any last words, General?" asked Roy through his speakers.

General Natsume then remembered a curse, forgotten in its age and vulgarity.

"Go… go to hell you eleven piece-of-shit!"

The Guren's right hand closed in around him.

* * *

><p>Lycris led his band of three into the hills around the city. The light was beginning to show in the east. He had a bandage wrapped around his abdomen, where a sneaky Mirage-soldier had got a shot off. He had paid with his life.<p>

"Where are we going sir?" asked one of the tired soldiers.

Lycris turned around and stabbed him through the heart. The other soldiers gasped as their comrade fell to the ground, dead.

"Now listen up you two," Lycris said, like a mother scolding children, "If I hear one word out of either of you, I'll kill ya. I don't have time for slackers or talkers."

His blood dripped with gore.

"I'm just keeping you two around for the company. So don't piss me off or I'll fuck you up."

The men nodded.

"Good boys."

He turned back to the trail they were following, but darted his sight back to the city.

"Well would you look at that…"

His men squinted but couldn't see what was fascinating Lycris so much. They decided not to ask though. Lycris understood. They didn't have bionic implants in their eyes as the Emperor had ordered for him. He almost pitied them.

"Back when I roamed the gutter, they called me Hawk. On account of my brilliant eyesight. I could pick out a trap or ambush a mile away. If it weren't for Crow I would be ruling the whole of the underground now."

The men said nothing. They were wondering what he was ranting on about.

"Do you want to know what I spy with my little eye?"

The men nodded.

Lycris laughed.

"My poor father's in a bit of trouble."

* * *

><p>R.R. and Asano looked at the screens of the forward command post.<p>

"What is he doing?" asked Asano.

"He's symbolising our victory," replied R.R. with a devil's smile.

* * *

><p>Across the city, the fighting stopped.<p>

The guns stopped. The vehicles stopped. The final missiles finished their final journeys. Both sides stopped fighting. Both sides looked up at the Citadel.

The Britannians dropped their weapons. The Rebels cheered and whooped.

For atop the Citadel, in all its aweinspiring glory, the Guren MKII perched, right arm raised, with the corpse of General Calaghar Natsume firmly in its grasp.

* * *

><p>"You know what this means General?"<p>

"What?"

"We have won."

* * *

><p>A man walked down an old dirt road. He was trying to reach Kyoto.<p>

His boots had worn down to the soles. His coat was dusty and dried. His fingers were thin and his face, gaunt. His eyes were sunken from lack of sleep and his chest was like a rake. He had only drunk water in the past three days and looked half-dead. Stubble grew on his chin and his hair covered his ears. His trousers were covered in all kinds of stains and dirt while lice wriggled about his clothes. His wallet and watch had already been mugged while his clothes still stank of piss from where the muggers had lubricated all over him. He looked like the God of all Tramps.

Another man, resting by the side of the road, saw him and got up. He ran up beside him and kept pace, not seeming to notice the smell.

"Well," said the new man, "You look like shit."

The God of all Tramps grunted.

"Where you going?"

The God of all Tramps mumbled something that might have been, "Kyoto."

"What a coincidence! I'm headed there too!"

The God of all Tramps looked at the new man. "I've already been mugged…"

"Mugged? Hah! You think that I'm that low? Hell no! I'm just a customer of circumstance."

"A what?"

"A customer of circumstance. An opportunist. Like you took the opportunity to betray your General to save your own wretched hide."

The God of all Tramps looked again at the man. He was a very handsome, twenties something, jet-black hair, know-it-all.

"You must be the Calikarcha," came Shimada's reply.

"Oh, so you have heard of me. I'm so glad. You should know why I'm here then."

"To kill me?"

"Well, sort-of."

Shimada laughed. "Sort-of? So only half-kill me?"

"Well, no, not exactly. You see, my current assignment is to track down a pair of rebel dissenters, kill one and capture the other. You were an optional objective."

"I'm so thrilled."

Amadeus laughed. "You know what Zero's exact words were?"

"I'm dying to find out."

Amadeus laughed again. "_Don't come back until that traitorous little worm is burned, maimed__, mutilated, hung, drawn, quartered, stabbed, shot, drowned, sliced, diced, punched, kicked, cut, tortured and mullered!_"

Now it was Shimada's turn to laugh. "What the hell does 'mullered' mean?"

"God knows. He sounded angry though."

"No doubt."

They continued walking for a while longer.

"You do realise he's waiting in Kyoto."

"Who?"

"Zero. He arrived today. You might as well stop walking."

Shimada stopped, realising his position. He knew he was dead.

"Who exactly are you chasing?" asked Shimada, resigned to his fate.

"A guy named Raven and his dumb green-haired girlfriend."

Shimada was shocked. "No kidding? My informant in the Rebel base was Raven!"

"Heh, heh. No shit? He was making to turn tail and flee like a chicken."

"Well he's more of a traitor than me-"

"-Which is exactly why he's next on my list."

"Good."

They stared down the road, as if seeing the gleaming spires of Kyoto already.

"I can't wait out here in the sun," said Shimada, "Under the trees."

They moved under the shadow of an old sycamore tree, its branches hanging low.

"I need to thank you though," continued Shimada.

"For what?"

"For killing Major Uesugi."

"Uesugi…? Oh yes! The slimy fucker in Old Hong Kong. It was a pleasure."

"No doubt. All you seem to do is kill traitors."

"Well, loyalty's a bitch."

Amadeus smiled.

"You wanna know how I killed him?"

"How?"

"Well, you no doubt have heard the stories about me convincing people to take their own lives…"

"Bullshit!"

"It's true. I convinced him to end his own life. He did it gladly. Hung himself from a bridge."

Shimada roared with laughter. "Then try me!" he shouted, "Try to make me convince myself that life is so meaningless!"

Amadeus continued to smile at him. "Alright. Any last words?"

Shimada was surprised. "Well… I wish I could have had a family… maybe a nice car… one of those that hovered…"

"You're not one for last words are you?"

"I seemed to have given up my life as soon as I joined the military."

"Fine then. I'll give you some food for thought. I managed to discover the location of the rebel base off of a woman. She didn't remember that she told me. How did I do it?"

"Drugs?"

"Nope."

"Booze?"

"Didn't need to."

"…then how?"

Amadeus smile never slipped. "The same way I'm going to convince you to die."

"Well… if you say so. Goodbye then."

"Goodbye," Amadeus said and looked Shimada in the eye, "Now would you kindly…"

"…_DIE!"_

A flash of red entered Shimada's eye. His brain rearranged itself. He started grinning.

"Gladly oh majestic Calikarcha!" he shouted with glee and pulled a pistol out of his coat.

He raised it to his temple. And fired.

Shimada fell among the sycamores.

Amadeus smiled. Whether it was with satisfaction, sadness, pity, remembering a funny joke, only he would know.

He walked back onto the road, leaving a corpse by the side of it.

And so a man strolled down the old dirt road. He was going to reach Kyoto. There was murder on his mind and a gleam in his eye.  
>As well as the power of the King.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Far, far away<br>The Man Who Would Be King  
>Far, far away<br>The Man Who Would Be King  
>So far away<br>The Man Who Would Be King_

There was a face in the dark, with a smile on her lips.

"Lelouch. Your time is close at hand."


	10. Visions of Kings

**Chapter 19: Visions of Kings**

Above Earth, Damocles saw all.

Under the smoke from the echoes of battle, Nagoya was bustling with movement. Families tried to reunite, to find corpses of loved ones. Hundreds of tanks roamed around, thousands of troops trained daily, hundreds of thousands of ammo spent on rubber targets. There weren't enough simulators to go around. In the Citadel, R.R. concocted plans and hatched schemes, about how to take the throne, about how many obstacles were in his way and what to do with the rebels and Empress Lilia when he had ascended to the rank of Emperor. They didn't fit well into his plans and when they did fit in, then it was under six feet of dirt. In the fields outside of the city, people watched with mouths hung open as the Guren danced a dance of fury and fight. Roy had a simulator and so a holographic Lancelot attacked him without hesitation or a single pause for breath. It was less realistic but more challenging, so that when the time came, the real Lancelot wouldn't stand a chance. Zero wouldn't know what hit him.

But on a lower floor of the Citadel, there was very unhappy General.

"I can't believe R.R. didn't take the chance!" he said in anguish, "Osaka and Kyoto are the two last remaining cities in Japan and while they were undefended, he didn't take them! Victory would have been complete!"

Lieutenant Goro, who had heard all this before, was getting tired of his General's negative attitude. "Sir, R.R. has already stated his plans. He waits for the Lancelot so that the Guren can destroy it in front of the whole world. Zero's death would boost considerable morale."

"I know all this! Zero has already arrived in Kyoto with his elite Zero Squad at his tail, and _still _R.R. won't move out!"

"He says he is training more men-"

"I know that! What do I keep you around for anyway?"

"I'm an excellent sycophant."

Meanwhile, in a barracks near the outskirts, two men were involved in the strenuous and exhausting activity and occupation of fighting each other to the death.

Once again, Shinto went down. Blood was pouring from his nose, which was more broken then the china shop on Mad Bull Avenue. His legs were weak and this time, he didn't want to seem to get up.

"Please stop it," said a rather unhurt Ling, "I am half-metal and strong in the flesh. You actually are hurting yourself more than me when you attack."

"F-fuck you, cyborg," muttered an injured Shinto, "Y-you and those fucking ninjas killed my little brother."

Ling's heart was once more overcome with guilt. He would never live down what he had done. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am-"

"Sorry!" Shinto spat, "You're sorry? You're a fucking machine! You can't even be sorry!"

Ling suddenly became angry, but remembered the last words to have crossed Weasels mouth.

"_I played you like a fiddle. You're nothing but machine underneath."_

Ling looked at his arms. Metal. He felt the left side of his head. Metal. And if he could have felt his heart he would've sworn that was metal too.

Shinto laughed at how pathetic he was, tears streaming down his face. "Look at yourself! You fucking tin can! You shouldn't even be here! Where's my brother? Where's my poor, poor, brother? He was flesh and blood! And you helped kill him! You are unwanted! You are not welcome! You would betray us if you had any humanity left in you!"

Ling just got up and left. A single tear rolled from his only real eye.

Meanwhile, on one of the highest floors of the Citadel, R.R. gazed out the newly prepared window, down at the bustling ruin of the city. It was like a massive ant hive, filled to the brim with stuff happening and stuff that would happen. But R.R. didn't care one jolt about that. He cared about his guilt leaving him. Unfortunately, she wasn't moving an inch.

"Off the table," he ordered.

"What?" C.C. said, lying across the table, her arms out wide, "If I'm a hallucination, then I'm not really on the table at all."

R.R. growled. His teeth gnashed together.

"Oh, don't be such a baby," she said, "I always liked the serious, power-hungry, Lelouch."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. He reminded me of myself at a younger age."

R.R. whirled around. "Are you real, or just a figment of my imagination? And no riddles!"

She gazed at him. He gazed back. She got off the table and walked to his side.

"Am I a hallucination? Was Benny telling you I was never on Damocles a hallucination? Is this whole world an illusion? Are you still in that capsule, maybe locked away in a warehouse, going insane?"

"Shut up! It doesn't matter if this is all an illusion! I am here and I will do what I like here!"

He turned back to look over the city. She smiled. Wrapping her arms over his shoulders, she gazed into the city as well.

"Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a hallucination. But this place isn't. And neither was my death hundreds of years ago. But then again, it wasn't a hallucination of me accompanying you into the capsule. But I was a hallucination when you stepped out…"

"The one in the capsule wasn't real?" asked R.R., worried out of his mind.

"Oh no, the one who entered the capsule was real. But the one that was dead beside you when you were awakened was me. That's why Lilia never saw me. You hallucinated you did though."

"…What's going on?"

"Huh?"

"Where is the real C.C.?"

"Am I not good enough?"

"Enough tricks! Tell me!"

She smiled. "Are you sure there was even a real one?"

"Stop it!"

"As a figment of your imagination, I get to roam around your brain a lot. It's a very weird place."

R.R. sighed and gave up. He just looked out the window. The maybe-not-so-real C.C. followed his gaze.

"One day all of this will be yours."

"I know."

"How arrogant."

"Confidence."

"There's a fine line. But then you've always been one for standing on the edge."

The Damocles saw all. Princess Lilia looked out over the world. It would be her world, her ideal planet. One of complete and utter peace. And no-one would get in the way of that dream.

But the one thing the Damocles never saw; was inside itself.

So no-one decided check the Secret Weapon Room. No-one had checked it for a long time. But one day Benny decided differently. He was worried about the commander of Lilia's army and remembered a conversation he had with him. So he decided to check the Secret Weapon Room. After a thorough inspection of the capsule, he shrugged his shoulders and left the way he came in.

There was no-one, dead or alive, in that capsule. There hadn't been for a long time.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in Kyoto…<p>

Zero stepped off the Aerial Black Operations Battleship _Whisper _and the Lancelot was unloaded off another one, that one called the _Secrecy_. They were the last vestiges of the Britannian Aerial Fleet in Japan. While the Lancelot was a fleet in all of itself.

"Commander Zero! We weren't expecting you for another two weeks-"

"I know. This is a surprise inspection."

Zero strolled down the airfield as his elite Zero Squad unloaded their stuff from the hulking battleship. Another voice came into his head.

"Commander Zero?"

"Emperor?"

"I want this rebellion crushed within a month! You understand?"

"It won't be done in a month."

"How long then?"

"Two weeks."

"You sound confident."

"I should be. I've got the most powerful weapon in the world, I'm the most skilled fighter in the world, I'm the most loyal person to you in the world and I'm the only one in the world who can stop these rebels."

"Excellent. What is my Calikarcha doing about the woman with Geass and her companion?"

"He is following up on leads in this very city."

"This is very good. Your forces will no doubt help his search?"

"Of course."

"Then good hunting."

Back in Pendragon, Emperor Lelouch sipped his wine and thought about what he would do with eternal life if he ever found it. And if he should bother resurrecting anybody with his immensely powerful Twilight Gate.

* * *

><p>They hid in the basement of a lowly little bar on the edge of the city, built up against the massive wall that bordered Kyoto.<p>

"Damn it!" said an angry Raven, "I knew we shouldn't have detoured through Kyoto to get to Osaka! The Britannians have put the city under curfew and they're out looking for us. I shouldn't have been so stupid!"

Lucia moved to comfort him. "It's not your fault," she said soothingly, "At least Sukara is helping us. The Britannians won't search this dingy little bar on the edge of town. You have a lot of friends."

"Don't count on them to be stupid. They'll search this place eventually. We'll need to be out of town beforehand."

They huddled in the cellar, where passing rats wondered what these giant creatures were and wondered by, not perceiving either as a threat.

"But," said Raven, "Who was it that you met? The man you told me about?"

"Oh, he was very kind. He helped me get through all the shit I'm going through. All he seemed to do was want to help."

"Yes, but what was his name?"

"It was…" Lucia began and then stopped. She stuttered and hung her mouth open before flinching and gasping.

"What's wrong?" Raven cried, immediately worried.

"I… I… can't say it! There's something wrong! I can remember it, but I can't say it!"

Raven looked at her, worried, and was about to ask something when a bell rang.

"That's Sukara," Raven hissed, "Someone has entered the bar. We need to get behind those barrels."

And so, leading a shocked Lucia, watched by the cunning rats, they hid behind the barrels and held each other.

* * *

><p>"What can I do for you sir?" asked Sukara, trying to keep the hate and fear out of his voice.<p>

The Britannian swaggered in, as if he owned the place. He had a smile of pure cockiness painted on his lips and his jet-black hair, confident demeanour and young age made the 45-year old bartender grit his teeth with spite. The young man looked around as if sizing the bar up. Sukara immediately reckoned he was here to buy the place. Which made him hate the cocky Britannian even more.

"What can I do for you sir?" repeated Sukara, steel creeping into his voice.

The Britannian looked at him as he had noticed him for the first time. He sized up the man behind the counter and his smile turned into a grin. Sukara was at the point of absolutely despising the Britannian. At least the man acknowledged him with an answer:

"Whiskey on the rocks."

The bartender served, as was his job and duty for the man.

"What's your name?" asked the man as he drank his whiskey.

Sukara was taken aback at the surprise friendliness. But he knew the man was trying to buy this place and he wouldn't let that happen. Not over his dead body. But he decided to oblige.

"Sukara," he grunted, "And I'm not selling."

The Britannian laughed. "Amadeus," he replied, "And don't worry, I'm not interested in this dump anyway."

The hate simmered.

"I suggest you drink your drink and leave, young man," said Sukara gruffly, "People around this area don't like Britannians. Who knows what they would do?"

"I know they don't like people like me. I asked them," said Amadeus, his smile playing upon his lips like a quarter-moon, "I also asked who knows everyone around here. They pointed to you."

Sukara grunted, annoyed that someone had told this man about him.

"So, Sukara," Amadeus continued, "What role do you play in this story?"

"What do you mean?" asked the ever annoyed bartender.

"As in, what is your part? Are you important? Or are you just here as a minor character? Did fate choose you to be as important as a speck of dust? Or will you help the hero in his quest for ultimate victory? Will you even survive to tell the tale?"

"I'm taking a dislike to your tone..."

"Because, you see, that is the whole point. Survival. It is never about who wants revenge or who wants to rule the world or who wants to help achieve world peace. It is about simple, necessary survival. And if everyone else is dead, then you win. This is the law of the world and of life itself. If there is no-one else left then you have won the great game."

"What are you trying to prove…?"

"I'm proving a point that I made to someone else, about fifteen minutes earlier. The one who ratted you and your two hidden fugitives in the cellar out. That person is dead. He has lost. I am still alive."

Sukara felt his world crumble around him.

"You see what I'm saying? You are still alive as well. If you wish to remain a part of the great game, then you will help those who are in a better position than you. Namely, me. If you give up the two idiots underneath your floorboards, then I might consider sparing you. And if you don't, you have lost. And remember, it's all about surviving."

Sukara hung his head, knowing he had lost as soon as Amadeus had raised a smile.

"The cellar entrance is down the stairs from the door on your left," he mumbled.

"Thank you. _Now give them the all clear signal._"

Sukara nodded and pressed a different button from the one he had pressed earlier. Amadeus could hear a faint echo of a bell beneath the floor. He immediately heard two people talking in the distance.

"_Do you have a gun?_"

Sukara nodded.

"_Then hand it over_."

Sukara, his face expressionless, took out a pistol from out of his jacket.

Amadeus gave a disappointed look. "_That it? You're a bartender! You're supposed to have a shotgun of sorts._"

Sukara handed over a more impressive, antique pump-action shotgun.

"_Ah, that's more like it. I can go hunting now. Now please __**die**__. And would you kindly do it silently?_"

Sukara nodded and pulled a switch-knife from his pocket. He flipped it and stabbed it into his throat.

"Looks like you're the equivalent of a speck of dust then," said Amadeus as Sukara bled all over the floor.

Pumping the shotgun, Amadeus walked towards the door, which led to the stairs, which led to the cellar, which led to Lucia and Raven.

He pulled on a mask he had had since a child which resembled a Bali bird-deity. It was equipped with shades. _There's no way I'm letting myself get killed by another Geass user,_ he thought, _This is survival of the fittest._

* * *

><p>Raven heard the footsteps on the stairs.<p>

"Oh it's Sukara!" said Lucia.

But Raven knew Sukara's footsteps, even with one ear. And those weren't his.

"Behind the barrels," he whispered, "Quickly!"

The cellar was a large affair, with several barrels of beer and wine scattered around on top of each other. There were a lot of hiding places that were amplified with the darkness around them. It was easy to find a stack of barrels in the shadows that could contain both of them. Lucia couldn't see a thing, she was clutching Raven so close.

"Shhhh," he whispered.

They heard the door swing open. Then nothing. No footsteps, no breathing.

And then, like a far-away breeze, a word could be made out.

"_Ravennnnnnnnnnnnnnn…_"

Lucia forgot to breathe.

"_Luciaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…_"

Raven silently pulled a pistol from his pocket. He moved a few millimetres to see the entrance to the cellar. The door slammed shut. There was almost complete darkness. The intruder was nowhere to be seen. Lucia looked up at her lover. He raised a finger to his lips and melded into the darkness.

Lucia tried to look around but it seemed as if her eyesight had failed her. The darkness closed in around her, threatening to cut her off from the world. Fear entered her heart and started to tear at it. She clutched her chest, her violet eyes wide with terror, as she began to shake. Her breaths were sharp but silent, the calm oxygen replaced with terrified CO2. She barely turned her head to look through a gap in the barrels to see into the room. It was pitch-black. The cellar was deathly silent. It was if her grave had taken her already. And then she saw it. Hidden in the shadows, a horrible monster, like a bogeyman from her worst nightmares. A shotgun in its hands. A bird-monster mask on its face and evil in its gaze. It stood like a statue, but no statue should be in this cellar. And neither should a statue's eyes move. It swept its monstrous glare over the room like a vulture over a dying person. The rats fled from its feet. Lucia felt her heart beating with sheer panic. She felt the darkness close in around her, the monster's eyes everywhere. She wanted Raven! Where was Raven? Help! Help me! Let me out!  
>In the darkness of the cellar, she let out a small gasp. The bird-monster felt victory closing in.<p>

"_That's a very nice Geass you have there…_" came a hiss that seemed to come from everywhere.

Lucia started to whimper.

"_Fear… What a powerful weapon it is. It can crumble castles and crush kings. Paranoia. Panic. Terror. Dread. Horror. These creatures come for you in the night._"

Tears ran down her face.

"_Let that be a lesson for little girls who play in big games. You silly little woman. What were you trying to prove? What were you hoping to accomplish? If you give up now, then I will allow you to live. I will help you. You shall know the truth. And the truth shall set you free._"

She openly wept as the darkness was illuminated and thunder crashed around the room.

Gunshots smashed through the room as they released a noise that could split the ears and smash the brain. Raven and the Calikarcha opened fire on each other as Lucia screamed, the roar crashed around her, around them, support beams split from the gunshots, the rats scurried in terror, Lucia screamed, Raven roared, The Calikarcha laughed as buckshot and smoke swam through the room, the beer and wine flowed like blood and piss, the ceiling began to cave in, Lucia screamed with the terror of a girl who has held in every fear she ever had until now.

And then a hand was on her, pulling her away from the mounting debris and sound of thunder, flash of lightning. The wine flowed as Lucia screamed as the bar came down from above them as the Calikarcha laughed as the bullets screamed through the smoke. They ran upstairs, past doors, past a corpse, past the bar.

And then they were out on the sidewalk and running through streets, running through alleys, running though the shit and garbage of the bums and hobos. They were running as fast as they could, to go as far away as they could while Sukara's bar fell on top of itself, burying everything else underneath.

* * *

><p>A while later, at about four in the morning, Amadeus managed to struggle out of the rubble, helped by Britannian soldiers. Although he wouldn't want to admit it, he looked like shit. Unfortunately someone else thought the same thing.<p>

"You look like shit."

Amadeus looked up to see a passive Zero staring down at him.

"You pretty much screwed this one up, didn't you?" he asked.

Amadeus tried to grab some feasible excuse out of thin air. There was none, so he had to reply with an embarrassing:

"Yes."

"Luckily, I give people with good records second chances. Count yourself on thin ice now. Continue to search the city for them. Emperor Lelouch is not to be disappointed."

Amadeus stood up and dusted himself down before picking up the miraculously untouched pump-action shotgun. He turned and walked down the street.

"And Amadeus?"

The Calikarcha looked back.

"There can be no second resurrection. Remember that next time you bring the house down on top of you."

* * *

><p>Sleeping in a dirty, scary cellar is bad. But the back-streets of old Kyoto, filled to the brim with the scum you see on holographic screens killing puppies and kicking babies, is a hell of a lot worse. So Raven and Lucia laid huddled together by a dumpster under the watchful gaze of the hobos and tramps of the forgotten streets of Kyoto. Only Lucia got to sleep, and very late at that. Raven gave a would-be mugger a hard stare who instantly shuffled off somewhere else.<p>

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, a young man with an old dust coat, pump-action shotgun, evil mind and the power of a king, walked down the street, his shoulders hunched and his smile twisted. He was on the hunt.<p>

* * *

><p>Two men stood on a hill with a crimson king. They watched the procession of thousands of men as they marched west, with hundreds of vehicles of all sorts in the mix.<p>

"The battle for Kyoto will begin soon," muttered Asano.

"While our western forces attack Osaka," replied R.R.

"Crushed in a pincer," murmured Roy from the cockpit of the Guren.

"This will be the final battle."

"Yes."

"Zero waits for you."

"I am ready. He will die."

"Good."

They stared over the Rebellion. Three men stood atop the hill, knowing the final battle would come soon. They would fight to the death. R.R. smiled at the thought. So did someone else.

"Your time is at hand," she whispered soothingly.

And for the first time of that century, her voice made him feel better.


	11. Ashes to Ashes

Super-epic-massive-awesome-mega chapter! TWO major characters die! OMG! OMFG! OMFGOAMFZ!

(Even I have no idea what that one means...)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 20: Ashes to Ashes…<strong>

He looked around the room. The grand, ancestral room of utter power and control. True power was formed in this epic chamber and true wealth was displayed from the pillars of pure marble that held a cathedral-high roof.

_How?_

It was all over.

_How had it come to this?_

Life, wasting away.

_How could I have fallen so far…?_

* * *

><p>An army of thousands of men and hundreds of armoured vehicles charged towards the towering wall. It ringed Kyoto like an iron curtain, a barrier of utter doom. Hundreds of guns and cannons were fixed atop and within its fortress barricade. They rained down thousands of bullets and hundreds of shells. Men fell in droves but the push continued as missile launchers and artillery pieces bombarded the wall like a storm against the sky. Rotary artillery pieces, shaped like a revolver, launched shells the size of a man in quick succession, each one smashing into the grand wall and opening another breach. Men fell upon the wall like the sea upon the shore and, using extremely powerful gravity boots, began to scale it. Havocs poured over the edge, crab demons scuttling down for the kill. But entire air divisions of jets launched missiles into the side, smashing the Havocs into little pieces as VTOLs descended towards the great battlements atop the wall. The Guren led them, red armour reflecting the explosions in the dead of night. Smoke rose to the clouds. The sky boomed, exploded, blazed with airborne fire.<p>

"The assault is going well, commander," Asano noted.

"I'm thinking about where their airpower is," R.R. said, "I bet we didn't take down all their Aerial Battleships and I don't see any jets in the air."

"And there's the Lancelot to deal with."

R.R. smiled his devilish smile. "Roy can take care of that."

* * *

><p>The Guren threw the last Havoc off the towering battlement and into the city below. The crab machine smashed into pieces next to the gathering Britannian troops. They looked up to see a great nightmare silhouetted against the smoke and ash of battle. They could hear the thick wall being blasted apart. They heard the roar of battle. The fear was so thick you could smell it. Roy activated his speakers.<p>

"Where are you Zero?" he shouted out to the city, "Where is your pretty little Lancelot? Where is your gleaming white knight of death? Where is General Natsume and his forces? Their blood still leaks from my claws! Their screams can still be heard in the night! Now come out and face me coward!"

* * *

><p>Zero walked towards the majestic Knightmare in the huge garage. The viceroy, Rikazi, walked beside him, cowering in the awesome power of the masked man.<p>

"Uh, not to doubt your abilities sire, but, well, it's just that the Guren has destroyed more enemies than anything else in the history of mankind!"

"So?"

"Well, um, the history books also say that in the final battle on the original Damocles, the Guren destroyed the Lancelot!"

"So?"

"Well then… good luck!"

"Thank you, Viceroy. I don't plan on dying just yet."

"Sire?"

"When I have won the battle you can keep your position as Viceroy. You might be a slimy, cowardly little man but at least you handle mediocrity well."

"What do you mean by that sire?"

"I have met many a man," said Zero as he stepped on the Lancelot's elevator, "Who could not handle being unimportant. Which is why you're quite useful."

"Why thank you sire… I think."

* * *

><p>There were about twenty-five people in the basement. It was packed to full and not a sound could be heard from any of them. They were all listening to the distant battle. The tramps and hobos had been allowed in. The kindly owners of the bar did not want a single Japanese person to die in the streets and so had allowed them all to take shelter here. So too, did Raven and Lucia. They huddled together, unmoving and unbelieving that the rebellion had followed them so quickly. No matter where they went, they just couldn't seem to get away from the devastation that followed them. So they held each other, waiting it out.<p>

* * *

><p>"The wall is about to collapse," noted Asano.<p>

R.R.s eyes studied the carnage in front of them. _This is going well. I forgot that men were so weak though. They die quite easily. If only I had Knightmares…_

And then he saw something through the gathering clouds and smoke. Something large, black and big.

"What's that?" R.R. pointed towards the sky.

Asano scanned the sky, trying to find R.R.s phantom item of interest.

"You have good eyes commander," Asano said, finally finding it, "Whatever it is, it isn't appearing on radar or any other scanners."

"It's a stealth craft," R.R. said and realised with horror what was about to happen.

"Q-2!" he shouted into a mike, "Above you!"

* * *

><p>Roy looked up and saw a hundred missiles streaming down towards him. He leaped off the wall as the missiles smashed into the battlements and caused an explosion that split the wall into pieces that crashed down onto both sides.<p>

The Guren span about in mid-air and shot up, its energy wings ascending the Knightmare to the heavens. The huge Aerial Black Ops Battleship _Secrecy _found itself the unwanted target of Roy's wrath. The Guren unleashed it's Radiant Wave Surger in a beam shot that smashed through the armoured canopy and fried any crewmembers that were too near it. The Guren flew over the Aerial Battleship and shot at it with the missiles on its shoulders. The armour-piercing rockets smashed through the top of the _Secrecy _and exploded within, damaging the engines and knocking out the stealth generator. Now visible to everyone with a basic radar transmitter, a hundred rebel missile launchers aimed upwards.

The explosion lit up the sky as thousands of rebels charged in and fought the men of Britannia.

* * *

><p>A building crumbled to his right as the Calikarcha walked steadily down the road.<p>

His Geass had helped him locate the streets and alleys were Lucia and Raven had travelled. The locals in Kyoto were so very co-operative. His shotgun was pumped and so was he. It would soon be time. Time for death, fear, lies and victory. And he would be at the centre of it all.

* * *

><p>He looked around him at his doom.<p>

_How had it come to this?_

He knew where he was. He had seen it before.

_Where had it all gone wrong?_

* * *

><p>The Guren landed atop the spire of an ancient Christian cathedral and looked up at a nearby tower. Rather, it looked at the figure perched on top.<p>

The gleaming white metal and golden linings of the serene and omnipotent Lancelot waited. It held its swords next to its face, as if trying to stare at the beautiful killing weapons and the Guren at the same time. The VARIS was attached above its rear and the hadron cannon could be equipped to it at any time. But more important and more powerful than the dread Knightmare in front of Roy was its pilot. Zero had killed more men than Roy could count and had commanded more battles across the planet than any three world leaders combined. And not once had he lost. His power was second only to the Emperor's and he could muster an army from anywhere and launch an invasion at any time. Roy had only fought the Guren in a few battles compared to Zero's huge combat experience.

And so they stared each other off.

The Lancelot and the Guren.

Two ancient rivals faced each other for the very last time.

Zero spoke first.

"I'm giving you one chance, rebel," he said, "Surrender now and you won't be killed."

"There's no chance in hell of that happening, Britannian scum."

"Are you sure? I could swear your shaking in your armour."

"Are you done talking or do you wish to face your death."

"How stupid. So be it."

They flew at each other in the battle of their lives.

* * *

><p>Thousands of men gunned each other down on the urban battlefield, blazes of doom and fires of hell burned the men out of any cover they thought they had. People like Ling and Shinto fought on the frontlines of a battle that raged across the city. Corpses and wrecks were strewn across the war space. Jets screamed through the sky and the <em>Whisper <em>threw missiles into the fray of the grand battle. This was war on an epic scale, just as the _Ikaruga _flew into battle against the remnants of Britannia's air force.

R.R., knowing that he was immortal, felt a rush of excitement flow through him.

"General?"

"Yes commander?"

"What say we get closer?"

"…"

R.R. stared at him as if issuing a direct challenge to Asano's courage.

"Alright then."

"F-1, set up a forward command post."

* * *

><p>A baby cried.<p>

A woman screamed.

A dog whimpered.

The sounds of battle roared outside.

Lucia began to breathe heavily.

"Don't worry," whispered Raven, "We'll get through it. We'll see the other side of this."

"…Do you remember what you said?"

"What was that?"

"You would say you loved me at a more dramatic moment. This is pretty dramatic, don't you think?"

"Believe me Lucia, you haven't seen dramatic yet. This is just the beginning."

* * *

><p>The Lancelot twirled away from another one of Roy's attacks.<p>

_He's good, but nothing compared to the legendary Suzaku Kururugi. He flees and dodges too much, like a coward. It's like trying to catch a runaway train. The simulator was easier._

The Guren shot forward and managed to catch the Lancelot's shoulder with a rake of claws from the right hand. A five-finger scar was implanted on the pristine armour. They both broke away and stared each other down.

"What do you fight for?"

Roy was surprised. He rarely talked to people he was trying to kill. "I fight to free my country from this oppression and for the Empress. To gain honour from my grandmother's name."

"Ah, a descendant of Kallen Kozuki. But you've only faced simulators before, and the real me is much too clever for you."

"Whatever. What do you fight for then?"

"Me? I fight to repent."

"Repent? From what?"

"A mistake."

"Huh. You talk too much. It's time for your death."

"You've already forgotten what I've said haven't you?"

"What was it you said?"

"I'm much too clever for you. Observe."

Five black Sutherland Knightmares appeared out of nowhere and tackled the Guren.

"Say hello to the Zero Squad."

* * *

><p>A jet smashed into a building near Ling and showered the Britannians with sparks and burning debris.<p>

"SIR!" shouted one of his men over the din of battle, "TANKS!"

And sure enough, two tanks rounded the burning buildings.

"TAKE COVER!" cried Ling as the tanks opened fire.

* * *

><p>"Admiral! The Britannian Aerial Battleship is fleeing the battlefield!"<p>

"Let it," replied Grand-Admiral Misora from the bridge of the _Ikaruga_, "We need to take care of the bomber wings to the south!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The huge, floating engine of war circled around to face the new threat.

"What are those…?"

"What is it first mate?" asked the Grand-Admiral.

"Look at the city!"

For down on the ground, crawling all over the city, were hundreds of Knightmares.

* * *

><p>Lucia and Raven screamed as the building was smashed to rubble around them. Knightmares grappling with each other crashed their way through the building in a monolithic fight. People were crushed under rubble, trampled underfoot, broken upon debris and smashed to pieces of torn flesh and shattered bone.<p>

In the midst of it all, with five Knightmares on top of it, the Guren reigned supreme.

* * *

><p>"RAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"<p>

The Guren burst another Knightmare with the Radiant Wave Surger, but more just kept on coming. He crushed another one with his fist and tore another open with a slash-harken. More just kept on coming. Another was crushed underfoot and the other torn in half. More just kept on coming.

"It doesn't matter about what is fair or not."

"FUCK YOU COWARD!"

"It doesn't matter about honour or integrity."

"FACE ME YOU BASTARD!"

"It matters who is the smartest and who survives."

"RAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

"Welcome to the real world little Guren."

Roy smashed another Knightmare apart and turned to meet another one.

And a sword stabbed itself straight through the cockpit and through Roy.

* * *

><p>"I gave you a chance. You squandered it. You will die a lonely death."<p>

Roy spat blood at his control screen as the light began to fade. The sword had almost sliced him in half. The Guren was beginning to power down.

"Goodbye. In the afterlife, know that you were beaten by me. Never forget that."

As his vision turned red, the last thing Roy saw was the Lancelot standing triumphantly over him.

* * *

><p>Above the Earth, Damocles saw all.<p>

"ROY!"

* * *

><p>The Knightmares overran the rebels. They crushed their tanks, shot down their planes. The <em>Ikaruga <em>turned tail and fled as morning broke. Ling hid in a drain. Shinto hid in a bank vault. But thousands of others were torn apart by bullets and turned into cadavers by the unstoppable advance of the immensely powerful Britannian Knightmare army.

Raven walked out into the light. Lucia looked up at him.

"Where are you going?" she called.

But Raven had seen someone he knew. Someone he remembered. Someone who held a pump-action shotgun and wore an old dust coat.

"Come back!" she called, on the verge of tears.

Raven only saw the Calikarcha in the distance.

"Raven!" she cried.

And then the Lancelot dropped out of the sky and landed in front of Raven. The huge VARIS was pointed right at him. He leapt out of the way a second too late.

Lucia could only stare in horror as the ground around Raven exploded upwards. His body was thrown about like a rag-doll. He smashed into the ground, blood spattering the rubble.

She ran to him as Zero stared down from the cockpit.

Lucia placed her hands on his face as he gazed up at her. Her tears landed on his cheeks.

"No…" she whispered.

"Lucia… you…"

"No, don't try to speak. You've got to stay alive. You hear me!"

"Lucia… I…"

"No…"

"I…" muttered Raven.

"I love you Raven! You can't die! You can't die!"

But he was already slipping away. His breathing slowed.

"I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you!" she cried over and over again.

Zero looked down from above. "You are the woman with this Geass the Calikarcha told me about? Well then… I think the Emperor would like to meet you."

As Raven faded in her arms, Lucia turned her tear-stained face towards the Lancelot. She looked at the symbol of hate for every country on the planet. She screamed at it as R.R.s forces were destroyed around her.

"YOU KILLED HIM!"

"He was an informant working for us. He decided to run off with you. He was finished from the moment he turned traitor."

"F-FUCK YOU! BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK!"

"I will take you now."

Lucia tore off her eye-patch. "GET OUT OF THERE! TAKE OFF THAT MASK! LET ME PUT THE FEAR OF HELL INTO YOU! BRING HIM BACK! I LOVED HIM AND YOU KILLED HIM! FUCK YOU! YOU BRITANNIAN PIECE OF SHIT! BRING HIM BACK!"

And then the Lancelot's hand closed around her.

* * *

><p>R.R. studied the screens with horror.<p>

_Knightmares? How could this be?_

"K-4, fall back to checkpoint Alpha-Sigma!"

"Yes si-ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!"

"K-4? K-4 do you copy?... R-6, give me a status report!"

"Screw your status report -ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!"

"R-6!... How is this happening!"

General Asano looked down at him with an expression of disgust. "You fool! We should have never fought the Britannians! The Guren is destroyed and Roy is dead! The _Ikaruga _flees east! Our forces in the west attacking Osaka are in disarray! We need to retreat!"

R.R. put his elbows on the desk and placed his hands on the back of his head. _Beaten us! They've beaten us easily! How could this happen!_

General Asano stared down at R.R. "Fine then! Lieutenant Goro, let's go! There is no victory here!"

As General Asano and his staff fled the forward command post, R.R. could only sit and stare at the screens. He saw his army overrun by the Knightmares. He saw the Lancelot in the middle, standing over the Guren's broken corpse.

_Zero… you bastard! How could you have beaten me? You didn't even need to use superior tactics! You just dropped these things out of nowhere! How dare you!_

He could see the Britannians surround the command post on the screens.

_How could he have foreseen my moves?_ _Knew my plans? __A__ traitor…?_

"Are you the rebel commander?"

R.R. slowly turned his head to see the room packed with troops. _Fine then! Let me get executed! Once they think I'm dead, I'll just start all over again!_

He held his hands out to be handcuffed. A Britannian slapped something strange on R.R.s wrist.

_What's this? It looks like one of Benny's telepor-_

Then there was a blinding light and a sickening feeling within him as his body was dematerialised before materialising again. He fell to his knees. He looked up.

_Oh no._

He looked around the room. The grand, ancestral room of utter power and control. True power was formed in this epic chamber and true wealth was displayed from the pillars of pure marble that held a cathedral-high roof.

_How?_

It was all over.

_How had it come to this?_

Life, wasting away.

_How could I have fallen so far…?_

He looked around him at his doom.

_How had it come to this?_

He knew where he was. He had seen it before.

_Where had it all gone wrong?_

"Bravo! Bravo!" cried a voice.

R.R. stared up at the throne. He stared up at the man upon it.

"You gave us quite a chase little man! As did your friend."

R.R. looked to his right and saw Lucia, her eyes streaming with tears.

"Lucia? Where's Raven…?"

She sobbed fresh tears. He turned back to the throne.

"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to the room you will die in!" cried Emperor Lelouch with happiness, "Welcome to Pendragon! Welcome to the end of the rebellion!"

* * *

><p><em>Dust to Dust…<em>

* * *

><p>Super-epic-massive-awesome-mega chapter next! Prepare to be shocked! Prepare to be stunned! Prepare to have your whole life change (ok, maybe not that last one)!<p>

Thanks for helping me hit 50 reviews!


	12. You will know the Truth

Holy **** on a **** sandwich! With a side order of ****!

(Note: That's what I was thinking while writing this chapter. I just had to upload it as soon as possible!)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21: You will know the Truth<strong>

"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to the room you will die in!" cried Emperor Lelouch with happiness, "Welcome to Pendragon! Welcome to the end of the rebellion!"

Guards came out of the shadows carrying axes with guns fixed into the hilt. Two held R.R. down while two others came and blindfolded Lucia. She didn't even struggle, lost in grief. Lelouch stared down at the two prisoners with malice in his eyes.

"Now we wait a few seconds for a full house!" Lelouch said, giddy with excitement.

After a few more seconds, there was a blinding flash of light, before Zero appeared, standing next to his Emperor.

"Ah, now this is better!" said Lelouch, "Now, tell me your story."

R.R. slowly looked up at the pathetic little man on the throne.

"How did a weedy little boy like you become Emperor?" he asked.

Lelouch frowned. "You haven't given me a good reason to keep you alive."

"It doesn't matter anymore," R.R. said, resigned to his fate, "Kill me or lock me up. I don't care either way."

Lelouch smiled. "Well I never thought I'd meet someone suicidal. You're interesting. You might as well tell me your story if you know you're going to die."

R.R. stared at the strange little person on the throne. _What an immature little brat._

"My story…?"

Lelouch stared intently at him. Zero seemed to be doing the same behind his mask.

"My story… is exactly like your story. Just three centuries earlier."

Lelouch lowered his brow in puzzlement.

"But I'll end at the beginning. So I'll start at the middle. Because no-one remembers the middle. Even though it sets up the end-"

"Gosh you're boring," yawned Lelouch, who turned to the blindfolded Lucia, "What's this Geass I've been hearing about then?"

R.R. was a bit miffed, but was shocked by the answer Zero gave the Emperor.

"The Calikarcha did extensive research into this. He claims it is a form of ESP or hypnotic power channelled through the left eye which can do heavy damage to another person's brain. But it apparently needs eye-contact. The Calikarcha used this to his advantage and fought her in the dark."

"Hmm," Lelouch pondered, interested, "How did she acquire this Geass? Was the legend of the immortals true?"

R.R. stared, shocked. _How does he know so much? If anyone smarter had his knowledge then they would've ruled the whole planet by now._

"It appears so," Zero said, "Which means that an immortal must have given her this Geass."

"Girl!" Lelouch shouted, "Where is the immortal who gave you your Geass?"

Lucia flinched. R.R. felt anger flow through him. She didn't answer.

"Where are your parents?" the Emperor asked, a malicious smile playing on his lips.

Lucia shook. Whether it was from grief or anger, R.R. wasn't sure.

"They… they are dead," she replied, sobbing.

"Really? Did you know them?"

She looked down even further.

"Did you know your father?"

"Stop it," said R.R.

"YOU DON'T ORDER ME ABOUT, PEASANT!" shouted Lelouch, sudden anger flaring.

"Did you know your mother?" he continued, evil smile playing upon his lips.

Lucia sobbed, much to the satisfaction of the false demon.

"Ah, hit a nerve did I? Did your mother leave you on the streets, like she didn't care about you? My mother didn't love me. She always doted on little Lilia. Hah! She hides on the Damocles, praying for a victory. While you kneel before me, like a slave. I bet your mother wasted herself on refrain. I bet she sold herself for five bucks to pay for her next hit-"

"SHUT UP!" cried Lucia, "JUST SHUT UP!"

"Ah, don't cry now, I'm having fun watching you squirm. Your father was a bastard and your mother a slut. No-one cares about you and no-one will ever care about you. You pathetic little girl. So small, yet such big dreams! Your own family abandoned you-"

"No Gods, No Masters."

The room was silent. R.R. stared down the Emperor.

"What did you say?" asked Lelouch.

"No Gods, no masters. I learned that a long time ago, when I was just a child. Walking through towns filled with corpses with the stench of death, I learned an inescapable fact. There are no Gods or Masters, just men. People, elected and helped by other people to achieve make-believe positions like Kings, Dukes, Emperors. They were only men. Men smart enough and strong enough to make other people follow them. There were no true Gods and no true Masters. Just those who were believed to be them. It was a fact of life.

"Then I found Geass. And everything changed."

Lelouch looked down at R.R. with renewed interest. "Go on."

"There it was. Geass. Like a wish. No need to sway people's beliefs or opinions. No need for the monster called loyalty. It was utter power. The true power of the King. Unstoppable, unbeatable, undeniable. You fall to your knees without consent or happiness. You kill without remorse or pity. All your secrets, laid bare. It was unbelievable. A way to take the world by just meeting face-to-face with your enemy. To take their lives for your own." He remembered Euphemia. "To make them do things they would never do as long as they lived. A pathway to paradise. And at the end of that path… immortality."

Lelouch's smile became a grin. His teeth showed as an epiphany dawned on him. "Of course! No wonder death didn't scare you so! You are immortal and you gave her your Geass! How excellent! Zero, you have outdone yourself in getting me these two idiots!"

"It was nothing sire."

"So…" said Lelouch as he turned back to R.R., "Your immortality. How long have you lived? Who did you see? How did you get it?"

"How long have I lived? Three centuries. Who did I see? A number of foolish people. How did I get it? By being with the woman I loved while she died in my arms."

Lucia's mouth dropped open. Lelouch stared, a smile on his lips. Zero's expression was masked… by a mask. But anyone could have guessed his mouth was hanging open as well.

"Three centuries?" asked Lelouch, grinning like an idiot, "Did you ever meet the original Demon Emperor Lelouch? What was he like? Were you there at his death? Did you serve under him?"

"Lelouch…?" asked R.R. "The Demon…?"

"Yes! Did you meet him?" Lelouch was giddy with excitement to hear news of his idol.

"Lelouch… now there's a name I haven't heard for a very long time…"

Everyone waited with baited breath.

"Yes I knew him. I knew him very well in fact. I was his closest advisor. From birth I followed his many exploits and adventures. All the way to his death."

"Tell me," whispered Lelouch in awe.

And so R.R. recounted his tale.

"Under the gaze of a bastard Emperor, who had left his wife to her death, the Demon and his crippled sister were exiled from the Holy Britannian Empire and were delivered as hostages into the country of Japan. From there, they were helped by a boy named Suzaku Kururugi. The Britannian and the Japanese were the best of friends. Then Britannia invaded. They were flung, head-first into the whirlwind of war and death. Suzaku came out the other side with his father's blood on his hands while the Demon wanted nothing more than to obliterate his home country. He wanted nothing more than to abolish everything about it. Its history, its dogma, its Emperor. And so they waited, waited until they could make a difference. When they returned, the Demon found his Geass and took control of the Japanese rebels. He donned the mask of an idol named Zero."

"Lelouch was Zero?" asked Lelouch, incredulous.

"That's right. He took the scattered rebels and turned them into the Black Knights. From there, they grew in number and support. As they delivered more victories, they were given more by the people of Japan. The Guren, the Knightmares, the pride of a nation. They swelled as Suzaku Kururugi and Zero clashed on a hundred battlefields, neither knowing the other's identity. When Zero eventually discovered that he was fighting his best friend, he snapped. The Demon took hold of him. He grew mad, insane at all the pressure and all the fighting. Only one woman stood by him through his trials in the Black Knights and the hidden identity in Japan. She was the one who gave him her Geass. At first they were at each other's throats. They were together just because they needed to be. But eventually, the contract they shared was slowly forgotten. In its place was the Demon and the Witch. A pair who fought through the battles and wars of the rebellion. When his sister was kidnapped, the Witch never left his side. I stood with her and she stood with me."

Confusion covered Lelouch's face. "Wait, what do you-"

"And then Suzaku beat me. We faced each other off in a cave of ancients. I came out the loser. He dragged me before the Emperor and my life was rewritten before my very eyes. He stole away Nunnally and all but destroyed the Black Knights. I was forgotten and I forgot myself as well. But she never forgot. She would never forget the contract. She took the remaining fragments of the Black Knights and led them into one last gasp battle. To get me back. To rescue me from the hell of life. I became Zero again and brought about the resurrection of the rebellion. And the Demon and the Witch continued on. We beat back Britannia and beat back Suzaku Kururugi. But after the final battle, they betrayed me. The Black Knights learned of my Geass and took insult. I fled, losing the Witch in the process. I had nothing. I had been thrown away by everyone I had ever associated with. So I decided upon a suicide mission. To track down and kill my father, the Britannian Emperor."

Lucia began to shiver with shock. Lelouch saw the truth in R.R.s eyes and his smile began to shrink.

"On the very same island where Suzaku Kururugi had beaten me, I met with the Witch and we fought against the Emperor. Suzaku was there as well. And in the end, the Emperor was erased from existence in his bid to kill God. I had won. I was the Demon Emperor. And the Witch had never left my side. But I cared about the vision my sister wanted: A world governed by peace. So I did all I could to achieve the world's undying hatred, so that I may die to bring global peace. I beat Schneizel and his Damocles to put the final nail in my coffin. And when the time came, Suzaku held the blade. Under the mask of Zero."

"No…" whispered Lelouch as he stared at the figure before him. But R.R. was in a distant memory, a dream gone horribly wrong.

"But she got in the way. The Witch put herself in front of the blade to save me. She gave her immortality to me, to save me. She didn't do it for her gain: she just did not want to be alive in a world where I was dead. And so I was cursed. The Witch died in the Demon's arms. And I was to live for eternity. That was my life."

"Impossible…" muttered Lelouch, who was rapidly becoming worried.

"I decided to leave this world anyway. I took the Witch with me into a capsule, to only be awakened when the world needed me most. But in that capsule I had dreams. I had dreams of a world under my feet. Empires in my hand. Conquests with a sweep of my arm. A million men at my command with a stamp of my foot. I liked the dreams of victory and ruling. And so in my dreams I plotted a plan if I was to ever be needed again. A plan to rule the world. I would lead a rebellion. A rebellion to take the planet.  
>And then I was awakened and I looked at the world."<p>

R.R. looked up at Lelouch, who was scared stiff on his throne.

"Do you know what I saw?"

Lelouch was petrified. Zero and Lucia seemed stunned as well.

"I saw a little person on a throne. A tiny, insignificant little person. And he had stolen my name. He had stolen my dream. He had stolen everything that I was and made a mockery of it. He pranced about, calling himself a Demon when he was nothing more than a worm."

R.R. stood up. The guards were too stunned to move. He walked towards the Emperor. He seemed to shrink in his seat.

"A worm. A measly little maggot. And he used my name. My name.

"HE DARED TO USE MY NAME?"

Lelouch wanted nothing more than to disappear out of the room. His mouth was hung open in terror as the Demon approached him.

"I rested three centuries so that I could take care of a little shithead like you? I rode into hell and came back just to destroy a little child who would dare steal a Demon's name! HOW DARE YOU!"

"I…I…I…"

R.R. stepped up to the throne.

"YOU STUPID, PETULANT LITTLE CHILD! HOW DARE YOU TAKE FROM A DEMON! HOW DARE YOU SLANDER MY NAME! HOW DARE YOU TAKE IT FROM ME! HOW DARE YOU!"

"I… I'm sorry…"

"WHAT IS MY NAME? WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE DEMON WHO DESTROYED THE WORLD AND MADE IT ANEW? WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE MOST FEARED AND DESPISED PERSON IN ALL OF HISTORY? WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE DEMON? WHAT IS MY NAME?"

"Le-Lelouch vi Britannia!" cried Lelouch in horror.

"YOU HEAR THAT WORLD? I AM LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA! 99TH EMPEROR OF THE MOST HOLY BRITANNIAN EMPIRE! LORD OF WAR, MASTER OF CUNNING, DEMON OF EARTH! I HAVE RETURNED! I HAVE DESTROYED ANYONE WHO WAS IN MY WAY AND RAZED ENTIRE CITIES TO REACH THIS POINT! TO COME FACE TO FACE WITH AN IMMATURE, PATHETIC CHILD WHO TAKES HIMSELF AFTER ME! ME! HE DOESN'T KNOW WHY I FOUGHT, WHY I DID WHAT I DID! YOU ARE JUST A FOOLISH AND STUPID LITTLE BOY!"

Lelouch stared up in pure horror as R.R. stared down with pure hatred.

"Do you know why I fought? Why I became a Demon?" he asked.

Lelouch just stared.

"I didn't do it for me. I didn't do it for the Witch. I didn't do it for the Demon. I did it for my sister. My little sister. She was my whole world. I created a perfect world for her. Just me. By myself, I fulfilled just one person's wish. And I'll be damned in hell if I wouldn't do it again."

They stared at each other.

The real Demon and the false one.

R.R.s anger began to fade, leaving just what resembled pity. He looked at the foolish little person beneath his gaze. How pathetic.

But as R.R.s anger left, Lelouch's began to grow. His terror left him and a frown appeared on his face.

"How dare I?" he asked, "How dare you!"

He flicked his arm and the stunned guards grabbed R.R. from behind and pulled him away from the throne. He was forced to his knees again.

"How dare you?" Lelouch continued, his anger simmering, "You, the only person I ever looked up to, you, the one who was immortalised as a Demon in every book I ever read, you, who toppled a nation and everyone in it: How could you be so pathetic?"

R.R. looked up.

"You did it for your sister?" Lelouch spat as he looked down at R.R., "How pathetic! You weak-minded fool! You aren't a Demon! You're a shyster!"

R.R. gave him a menacing stare. Lelouch got off the throne and took a few steps towards the Demon.

"LOOK AT ME!" shouted Lelouch, hate glaring out his eyes, "LOOK HOW FAR I'VE COME! LOOK AT YOU! YOU USED GEASS TO CHEAT YOUR WAY TO THE TOP, WHILE I BUILT EVERYTHING UP FROM NOTHING! YOU DID IT FOR YOUR PATHETIC LITTLE SISTER, WHILE I TOOK IT ALL FOR MYSELF! AND WHILE YOU KNEEL BEFORE ME, I AM EMPEROR! AND BECAUSE YOU ARE IMMORTAL I CAN TORTURE YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY!"

Lelouch laughed at R.R.s position in life. He laughed at his own grandness.

"LOOK HOW FAR I'VE COME! YOU CAN CRY AND MOAN ABOUT YOUR WITCH BUT SHE ISN'T COMING BACK! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A DEMON? BULLSHIT! I AM THE TRUE DEMON! I AM THE TRUE EMPEROR! AND YOU ARE ABSOLUTLEY NOTHI-"

But Emperor Lelouch was interrupted. He was interrupted by the large sword sticking through his chest.

It had entered through his back and gone right through his torso. His spine had been severed and his lungs ruptured. And now the blade stuck out his chest, all red and sticky. Blood dripped from its edge and gore leaked from its tip.

Lelouch slowly turned his head to look at his attacker.

Zero stood behind him, gripping the sword.

Lelouch gasped once, before sliding off the sword and falling in front of R.R. He simply stared at the corpse in front of him. The guards around him fell dead, killed by unseen assassins.

"Well," said Zero, "He was annoying."

"But… but why?" asked a stunned Lelouch.

And then Zero removed his mask.

And everything fell together.

R.R. hung his head in defeat.

Zero gripped the mask in her hand.

"Well then," C.C. said, smiling at her lover and her daughter, "Looks like it's time for a family reunion."

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><p>In your reviews of this story, please don't mention anything about the plot twist, as to not spoil it for others. Just refer to it as "The Twist". Thank you so much for helping me reach this point!<p> 


	13. And the Truth will set you Free

John 8:32 (In case you were wondering).

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><p><strong>Chapter 22: And the Truth will set you Free<strong>

"Well then," C.C. said, smiling at her lover and her daughter, "Looks like it's time for a family reunion."

Lucia heard her voice. A voice so distant and forgotten. For no reason she knew, she began to weep behind her blindfold.

His head hung low and his voice barely above a whisper; "Well done."

C.C. looked at him quizzically, "Of course. I believe I did a rather good job myself."

"Why are you still alive?" R.R. asked, a whisper. He was almost sobbing.

C.C. smiled gently and paced around the throne. Finally she sat on it and crossed her legs.

"Because I never died."

R.R.s head shot up. "WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!" he shouted with grief.

She continued to smile gently. She raised a hand and flicked her wrist. A knife shot out the shadows and sliced off the blindfold on Lucia. It fell away, leaving two red-rimmed eyes which slowly turned up to look at the figure on the throne.

"M-M-Mother…?"

"Yes."

And then Lucia fell onto her side, her thoughts and emotions screaming at her. She had finally met her mother. And her mother had killed Raven. And R.R., no the Demon, could very well be her father. She curled up into a ball and wrapped her arms around her head.

C.C. looked down at her daughter, who she hadn't seen for seventeen years. "Teenage angst," she said, "She'll get over it."

"Why are you alive?"

C.C. looked back to R.R.

"Because I never died. I'll explain:

"Three hundred years ago, I had planned on ending my life to save yours. An inescapable fact. I just couldn't bear to live in a world where every time your name was mentioned it was matched with a curse. I just couldn't live in a world without you. So I took the blade and gave you my immortality. Or so I thought.

"Instead of dying, I slipped into a deathlike coma. Not even Jeremiah, with all his cyborg implants, could detect any different. So I accompanied you into the capsule. For all intents and purposes, I was dead and I had given you my immortality.

"So imagine my shock when I began to dream."

R.R. stared at her reverently as if she would disappear at any second again.

"I dreamed so many colourful dreams. I dreamed of living happily with you on an island far away. I dreamed of me and you raising armies of steel to crush a world filled with fools. I dreamed of us killing every last person on this planet…

"But, much to my displeasure, all my dreams featured you. At first I welcomed it. I have always loved you and always will. But it became sickening. Your satisfying, cocky smile. All your grand plans arrogantly displayed. Your sweep of your hands as worlds trembled. And all the while I watched. I just sat there like a _bitch_!" she snarled.

"I just had enough," she continued, "I wanted out. I didn't care if I was alive or dead or whatever, I just wanted out of this nightmare. I wanted nothing more than to just kill you over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and-"

"Stop…"

She smiled her sly smile and continued. "I just couldn't take it anymore. I had followed you around in your silly little rebellions and your Black Knights because I was too ambivalent to do anything other than watch you. But now I wanted control. I wanted that power. I had gone too long without it. I hungered for it.

"But then I heard crying.

"I heard, dreamed someone crying. Someone small, insignificant compared to us. I heard the crying in my dreams. And I realised the crying was coming from me. But it wasn't me who was crying. It was someone _inside _me.

"I then realised what had happened on that day. The day of my death and the day of your life. I had not transferred my immortality to you. I had simply awakened the immortality within you. You had already taken the immortality from Charles when you bested him and banished him to the collective unconsciousnes. I had simply awakened it from within you, while accidently placing myself into a coma in my attempt to transfer my immortality to you. We were both alive and we were both immortal. And what's more, I was pregnant. With your child. It took a long time for the foetus to develop in that capsule. But all the while, I tried to escape it. I had been locked in it before, and so I had practised on trying to escape it. In the end, I managed to get out seventeen years ago. You were still way out of it and I was immensely tempted to wake you. But I had dreamed too many dreams of you with the power, the plans, the cunning. I didn't want you to be the one who would form the great plan. I closed the capsule and embarked on a quest to bring us both to the top. And I would do it all by myself."

"That's not exactly true," came a voice from the shadows, but the figure remained hidden.

Lucia stopped sobbing at the voice. It calmed her down, but she had no idea why.

"Of course," smiled C.C., "I'll come to you later Calikarcha. But I'm still explaining my epic return to bring us both here to this exact spot. Now where was I…? Oh yes! My triumphant escape from Damocles. I simply jettisoned out the airlock when no-one was looking and burned up in the atmosphere. I eventually was reformed and, much to my shock and annoyance, so did the foetus. Soon after that, I went into labour. Unable to do anything about it and, not wanting to have to drag a sack of shit around, I left my daughter on the streets."

R.R. stared at her, his eyes blazing. "Why?" he asked, angrily, "Why did you abandon our daughter?"

C.C. stared at him like he was stupid and waved the question away. "She was a burden. I didn't need her for my plan."

"DIDN'T NEED HER?" cried R.R., "SHE'S OUR DAUGHTER!"

"Oh well. She's here now, isn't she? No harm done. She looks fine anyway."

Lucia curled up even tighter, realising that her mother had only viewed her as an annoyance. She wept openly.

"So anyway," C.C. continued as if nothing had changed, "I wandered around Britannia, trying to find someone who held power but craved more of it. I happened to find that person in the Britannian high court. An insolent little boy by the name of Ricardo Von Britannia. He was in deep anguish that his sister, Lilia, who was only three months older than him, would become Empress and he would be forgotten. I recognised the idiot within him and so tracked down the Zero who protected Lilia. I killed him and took his place. And so, as Zero, I whispered in his ear about a legend. A myth. A memory. I told him to go to the archives and look up a certain demon. He was fascinated. And pretty soon he became obsessed. And while he poured over the infamous stories of the demon legend Lelouch Vi Britannia, I started to recruit. I found a wisecracking little shit on the streets and gave him a contract to help me with my plans. I then convinced Ricardo to hire him."

"And it was my pleasure," said Amadeus as he stepped out of the shadows, "To play that stupid little shit like a fiddle."

Lucia looked up at him. "A-Amadeus?" she whispered in disbelief.

Amadeus smiled at her. "Sorry gal, that I had to use my Geass on you," he said, "But I needed to discover the rebel base. You wouldn't have remembered it though. Oh yes, and I stopped you from revealing my name to anyone."

Lucia continued to stare at him. "What about Raven?" she whispered.

Amadeus looked down, guiltily. "That was just unfortunate."

Lucia closed her eyes. This was hell.

"And," C.C. said, annoyed at the interruption to her story, "I also recruited the traitor in your organisation."

R.R. stared hard at her. "Who was it?"

"Jeremiah."

R.R. stared at her in shock. _Jeremiah was a traitor?_

"To my utter shock, I found him still alive. His cybernetic implants had carried his life way past the deadline. But his time was close at hand. And he knew it too. So when he got over the shock of me being alive and speaking to him, I told him of plan. He was to start up a rebel group, against the Britannia that would eventually rise up and conquer. This would help you reach the top, I promised. So he agreed. He would formulate the rebels over the next seventeen years, while the false Lelouch would tear Britannia apart in his delusions of grandeur. And I would lead the charge with the Lancelot. I didn't need to know the proper tactics of how to fly one because there were no other Knightmares.

"I then saw an opportunity. You were all just sat there, at Narita. You were immortal. No-one else was. I hired out four ninjas to wipe out everyone there. Once you had been disabled, I would have brought you here. But unfortunately you had to kill them off and send them packing. And that led them to make the stupid decision of attacking your HQ. It was a bit of a mess. But it didn't matter because you created a rebellion that led you straight to my door. It was just a simple matter of destroying the Guren with my reinforcements and swamping your forces. And as we are talking now, five regiments of newly manufactured Knightmares are destroying your armies."

She spread her arms out wide. "And now we are here. What do you think?" she asked with her evil smile.

And that was when it hit Lelouch. It was so obvious, it was unbelievable that he hadn't seen it before.

"You didn't do this for power," he whispered.

She glanced at him.

"You didn't do this for me either."

She frowned.

"You did it… so that I would be impressed," he realised.

C.C. stared him down. "I've always loved you. And I've wanted nothing more than for you to be by my side. But I knew that you would never be happy until you owned the world. So I decided to bring the world to you. You can have it. You can take it all. I don't care."

R.R. smiled then, but it was a smile that carried no warmth. "This is your repentance. In return for giving me immortality to live on when I wanted to die, you have given me the world in return."

"That's right," C.C. said. She was a bit scared now: She had no idea how R.R. would react.

"So a simple 'Sorry I ruined your life, please take this planet as a present' gift?" he asked, a strange look in his eyes.

She held her breath. She nodded. The throne seemed too big for her.

R.R. stood up. He walked up the short stairs to the throne. He stood in front of it, his mauve eyes piercing through the woman in front of him. She trembled.

He gripped her chin in his hand. She stared up at him. He bent his head low so they were millimetres from each other. He closed his eyes.

He kissed her.

She gasped a little. But she closed her eyes and responded, their lips meeting for the first time in centuries. When he broke away, her eyes were still closed and her mouth hung open. When she opened her eyes, she stared up at the towering, dark Demon before her. She gaped. When the Demon spoke, the Witch trembled.

"I want nothing more than to rule the world with you by my side. Forever."

"Y-yes, Lelouch."

"My name is nothing now. It has been mocked and scalded too many times. If you abandoned the name of Lucia, then I shall abandon the name of Lelouch. You are C.C. I am R.R. And we shall rule all we can possibly take."

"Y-y-yes."

"I trust you have made preparations for my rule?"

"Y-yes, Amadeus has used Geass on all of our troops. You just have to contact them all and say the code sentence."

"Which is?" glowered the Demon.

She looked up as if worshipping a forgotten God. "What are we?"

The Demon smiled as she handed over the Emperor's personal transmitter. He placed it on his ear.

"All units under my command: This is your Emperor Lelouch."

Across the planet, millions of men received the message in their heads.

"_You will follow all orders of the Demon and the Witch_."

And across the planet, soldiers of every race, nationality, creed and position in the armed forces under the command of Emperor Lelouch remembered the grand mass meetings and remembered the moment that Amadeus had used his Geass on them:

"_In the future, no matter how long it may be, if someone says the words 'Demon' and 'Witch' in the same__ sentence on Emperor Lelouch's private channel, then follow his or her orders for the rest of your life._"

And as one they all responded in the same voice, one chorus across the world:

"Yes, your Highness!"

And so the Demon and the Witch took the world for themselves.

* * *

><p>But there was one small matter they had forgotten about. And she was whimpering on the floor.<p>

The Demon and the Witch turned their gaze towards their daughter on the floor before them.

She moved. She got to her knees. She stared her tearstained eyes at the throne and the two figures around it.

"Why?" she whispered, "What was it all for?"

"Power."

In her grief she didn't hear or see who replied, but in the end, it didn't matter.

"And what about Raven? Roy? Jeremiah? What about them? Where is their power?"

"They were immaterial," replied C.C., "And you will be too, unless…"

"What?"

"Join us," C.C. said, "We can be together at last, after all these years."

R.R. thought about it. Then he decided.

"She's right," came the reply of the power-obsessed Demon, "Please, join us Lucia."

"S-she killed Raven," Lucia whispered, "S-she killed him."

"He was a fool to get involved in the vulgarity of war," replied the evil voice of the Witch, "And you were a fool to fall for him."

"NO!" Lucia screamed and stood up. She faced down her parents, tears streaming down her face, "I WILL NOT LET YOU CALL HIM A FOOL! I LOVED HIM AND HE LOVED ME! YOU ARE NOTHING! FIGHTING FOR POWER AND REDEMPTION? YOU ARE EVIL! YOU ARE NOT MY PARENTS! I HATE YOU!"

"Lucia," the Demon said, his gaze glowering over her, "What else do you have? Please, I love you and I want nothing more than for us to all be together."

"A-a-and what about her," Lucia stuttered, her finger trembling as she pointed at the woman who she refused to believe was her mother.

C.C. stared at her daughter. "I never cared about you. I do not mind… no, I do not care whether you stay or go."

R.R. looked back at the woman he loved. He glanced sternly at her. She stared back.

"I just speak the truth. There is no avoiding the facts."

Lucia stood there, trembling. Finally she started to back away.

"No…" she whispered as utter doom took her, "This is not what I wanted. I never wanted this."

"It's not about what you want!" shouted C.C., "Don't you get it? It's never about what you want, only what you did. And you did nothing. You just took life in its stride and it swept you away! You just _wanted _everything to be perfect. And that is why you have nothing. Me? I acted. I schemed, I plotted, I planned and now look where I am! I am on top of the world! I have everything! The Demon! The throne of power! The whole world!

"And now I give you this one chance, a chance you shouldn't have anyway. Join with us and nothing will go wrong for you again. You'll be protected. You'll be fed. You'll be wealthy. So what will you choose? Will you forget your foolish boyfriend, who is dead or will you join with the Emperor and the Empress, who are alive? Don't be a fool."

Lucia slowly walked backwards. "R-R.R.," she questioned, "Surely you won't join with this evil woman?"

R.R.s eyes narrowed. C.C. laughed.

"Don't you get it yet? He was never a rebel. He was never anyone's friend! He was manipulating you all."

R.R. frowned. But he didn't deny it.

Lucia fell to her knees again. She looked up at the ceiling as if staring into the evangelical folds of heaven itself, as if wanting to escape this nightmare of pure sorrow.

"Why?" she whispered.

"Goodbye Lucia," said C.C.

"I'm sorry," said R.R.

And then a bright flash illuminated the room and Lucia was gone.

* * *

><p>"Now what?" asked C.C.<p>

R.R. smiled. His time was now. His world still had problems.

"Empress Lilia is alive. And she still has around an eighth of the Britannian army under her command. And she commands them from Damocles."

"So…" C.C. cocked her head to look at him with salacious eyes.

"So we take it. And we will use it."

C.C. stood up from the throne and placed her arms around him. R.R. and C.C. stood together.

"The world will be ours, my queen. And no-one will stand in our way."

And so the Demon and the Witch made their plans. To turn their enemies to dust.

* * *

><p>She didn't know where she was. The great sun burned upon the badlands she kneeled before. Her skin burned in the heat of day. To her surprise, the body of Raven was beside her. He looked almost peaceful. The sand shifted around her in the wind. A sidewinder slipped past, uninterested.<p>

She crawled towards his corpse. She placed her arms around him and curled up.

"Why?" she sobbed, "Why us? Is this how it ends? Us together, under a merciless sun? Us together, wasting away under a cloudless sky? Us together, fools to the end, just dreamers? Why us?"

They lay beside each other, under the deadly sun.

And high above, Vultures, the kings of all carrion, waited for her to die.

* * *

><p>Songs I listened to while writing: Dream On (Aerosmith) and Starblind (Iron Maiden). (In case you were wondering (which I highly doubt you were))<p> 


	14. Vultures

Ladies & Gentlemen, to my utter distress, this story is coming to an end soon. It has been a hell of a ride and one that I have enjoyed publishing entirely. But unfortunatley, it is almost over. It has been fun, and I may write different stories in the future... but this one is close to closing.

This chapter is a short prelim to the massive one I have coming. Thank you all who have stuck with me this far. I only ever wanted to make a satisfying ending to FIWEs story. Thank you.

(Songs I listened to while writing: In the Dark of the Night (Anastasia soundtrack), El Dorado (The Road to El Dorado soundtrack) and Send for the Man (AC/DC))

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 23: Vultures<strong>

One landed near the two bodies. It's dirty and unclean wings were raised high to cover the head and make the creature seem taller. Black, dried blood caked its beak and menace poured out of its diseased eyes. It lumbered towards the two bodies, flesh and feasting on its mind in the dark of the night. But unfortunately its smell betrayed it.

Lucia opened her eyes as the foul excrement on the bird's wings awoke her. She spun around, screamed and threw her arms around her, trying to see where the bird was, but it had already flown into the air and laboured away. Lucia fell back onto her knees and stared at the moon. She didn't even know where she was. Really, she didn't care. She just wanted to die… but she would never allow the Vultures to take Raven.

She fell back onto him, and only then noticed the piece of paper in his hand. She hadn't noticed it before, in her grief.

She took it from his hand and opened it. A note, in a handwriting that was strangely familiar:

_Take him to the mountain._

_Descend to the lowest floor._

_Resurrect._

Resurrect…

She looked around and peered into the night. It was hard, but she saw a silhouette in the distance. A massive, bleak, darkened structure that was darker than the night. A mountain. No snow, no grass. Just a huge chunk of rock in the middle of the desert. Huge and dominant on the badlands.

Resurrect…

It didn't matter who wrote the note or if it was a trap. She needed something to live for. She needed hope.

Resurrect…

She grabbed Raven's shoulders and began to drag him.

Overhead, the vultures followed.

It was a race: To reach the mountain and live, or to fall to exhaustion and be eaten.

* * *

><p>"B-Benny!" cried a voice in his head.<p>

*Snore*

"Benny?"

*Snore*

"BENNY!"

Benny's head snapped off the desk. "Wha-huh-um-what?" he asked.

"BENNY, ITS R.R.! I'VE ESCAPED FROM THE BRITANNIANS BUT THEY'RE ON MY TAIL! BEAM ME TO DAMOCLES NOW!"

"Wha-what? R.R. is that you? Shit, where are you?" Benny asked as he began to tap furiously at his keyboard.

"THEY'RE CHASING ME! LOCK ONTO MY TRANSMITTER AND BEAM ME UP!"

"Alright! Alright! Hang on a sec… something is jamming your transmitter…"

"BEAM ME UP!"

"Alright, I can't teleport you personally but I can teleport all life in a radius of fifteen feet around you. Are there any Britannians within fifteen feet?"

"NO! BEAM ME UP NOW!" R.R. shouted as gunfire was heard in the background, "QUICKLY!"

"Alright! You should stand still. Three, two, one…"

On the camera, in the teleportation room, R.R. materialised.

And so did a woman with green hair. And so did fifty men of the Britannian Royal Guard.

"Oh, you son-of-a-bitch…" muttered Benny.

And then the Britannians charged in.

* * *

><p>Lilia's Royal Guard were as good as R.R.'s Royal Guard. Only they were asleep when they were attacked. And they didn't have a Geass incentive. Or the very latest Britannian weapons and armour. They really didn't stand a chance.<p>

C.C. was the one who killed the last Royal Guard. She cut him down with a bloody katana while the Britannians checked the bodies for survivors. R.R. walked beside her.

"We need to split up. You should take half the force and capture or kill the Empress while I take the other half to take the control centre."

"Fine by me," C.C. replied and prepared to move off, but R.R. grabbed her.

"I don't know what you've been through," R.R. said, "But why were you so cold?"

"What?"

"Lucia. You treated her like dirt. Why?"

C.C. looked down slightly.

"You're right R.R."

"About what?"

"You have no idea what I've been through," she said and looked up.

R.R. stared at her.

"She isn't the first I've had you know," she said mystically, "And you don't know how painful it is watching them grow old and die around you. I watched my 87-year old son on his deathbed. So don't blame me if I want to remain distant from her."

R.R. gaped at her as she walked down the corridor. When he finally got his breath back, he ordered:

"Squad 2, follow her and obey all her orders."

"Yes sir!" came the reply of the Geass influenced soldiers.

There was so much he didn't understand about her. But that was one of the reasons why he loved her.

* * *

><p>She was now crawling. The strength in her legs was almost dead. She dragged the corpse behind her.<p>

The Vultures had stopped circling and now plodded beside her. She had tried shooing them off, but they had simply returned. A couple had even made darting pecks at Raven. But when one of them fell down, writhing in fear at hidden monsters and predators, they decided they would wait for their meal.

_They must be starving,_ thought Lucia, _to even attempt an assault._

She pulled with all her muscles. The mountain was nearer.

But the Vultures watched. And waited.

* * *

><p>Lilia tapped on the controls on her wrist. She needed to get out of here.<p>

"Stop right there."

Lilia stopped and turned her head up. Twenty-three, heavily armed men and one crazy woman stared her down.

"W-who are you?" asked Lilia trembling.

"Me?" replied C.C., "I'm C.C. But you might know me as Zero."

"Z-Zero?" shivered Lilia, "Y-you killed Roy?"

"Ah, the Guren," C.C. remembered, "Yes. I killed him and broke his little machine. With a little help from my friends of course."

Lilia was flooded with rage. "You will burn in hell," she muttered.

"I have no doubt about that. But not for a very long time."

"Roy will be avenged."

"You won't be alive to see it."

"Oh yeah?" pouted Lilia as she pressed a button on her wrist.

"Shit! She's got a telep-"

Lilia was gone in a flash of light.

"Oh…fuck."

* * *

><p>Benny swivelled round on his swivel chair. He had always liked big, comfortable swivel chairs. But he knew that comfort wouldn't last long.<p>

R.R. and a bunch of his men waited at the door.

"R.R.! This is a pleasant surprise!"

"I'm sure it is. It's over Benny. You've got nowhere to run. The Damocles is mine."

"Hmm… You want me to join you?" asked Benny like a super sleuth.

"Yes. How'd you figure it out?"

"You haven't killed me yet. So you must want me to work for you."

"Well done. Your detective skills are amazing. Now join us or die."

"Hmm… It's a very interesting offer…"

"Hurry up. I'd prefer not to kill you."

"Alright I'll work for you. For a pudding."

"…Seriously?"

"Yep. The catch is that I would need this pudding now."

"Bullshit!"

"Hey you got me! Oh well, I had you there for a moment," Benny said and hit a key on one of the keyboards behind him. An automated voice rang throughout the ship.

"_DAMOCLES SELF-DESTRUCT IN: 01:00:00"_

R.R. heard the voice and cursed.

"Thanks a lot Benny."

"You're welcome. Always happy to do my job for the Britannian Empire. Oh, and I've deactivated the ability to stop the self-destruct, I've disabled the teleporters and I've also destroyed the laser."

"Bastard."

"Actually no, my father was a bit of a loner. He only really felt comfortable around my mother."

"Any last words. _Serious _last words."

Benny frowned. "You still owe me a puddi-"

Gunfire echoed around the room.

* * *

><p>Corpses were strewn around the mountain. Cadaver after cadaver littered the mountainside. Britannian soldiers lay dead around her. They all carried guns and they all seemed to be smiling. It looked like no fighting had taken place, and they had all just committed suicide. The fortifications were unmanned and the bunkers, empty.<p>

But Lucia didn't care about that. She dragged the corpse of Raven under the shadow of the mountain. The Vultures were panicking now, as it became apparent that Lucia was making for the inside of the mountain. They were making more darting attacks and attempts at a good meal. They were even beginning to attack Lucia. A few more dropped dead thanks to her Geass, but more just kept on coming.

But still, she dragged the Raven from the Vultures.

* * *

><p>C.C. gazed out the window towards Earth. It looked so pretty and perfect. A content, ideal world. Picture perfect. How she despised it.<p>

"What do we do now?" she asked.

R.R. approached her. He cast his vision over the planet below as well.

"I've located Lilia in Tokyo."

"Good. Seeing as the laser is no more, how does that help us?"

"Whoever said we needed a laser?"

C.C. looked confused. "The Damocles has no weapons, and we can't get off it. It's going to be destroyed in 56 minutes. How are we supposed to kill her?"

"What are we?"

"Huh?"

"We are immortal."

A smile crept onto C.C.s face. "So…?"

"Let's ride the Damocles into Tokyo. See if she can outrun a bomb the size of ten skyscrapers."

C.C. laughed. "How long until we reach there?"

"49 minutes."

"So plenty of time? What to do until then…?" she asked playfully.

"I've got an idea…" Lelouch said as he grabbed her round the waist.

She smiled up at him with salacious eyes.

And so they kissed on a doomed ship before the beautiful Earth.


	15. We Shall Be Together In Paradise

I don't know what you'll think of the last few chapters. Frankly, I've got no idea what I've written. This story took so much out of me, I feel like I'm dying...

Frankly, the ending of my own story shocked me. And then I realised something. It's a happy ending. I never thought I'd be writing a happy ending to a Code Geass Fan-fic. Look how I've changed.

Prepare for a massively overblown epic ending, that I don't know if it's bad or good. But it's happy. And I think that's what people want.

Thank you so much for sticking with me this far. I'll be doing a completely original fan-fic in the future.

'Til then!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 24: We Shall Be Together In Paradise<strong>

_And I will appoint my Two Witnesses…  
>If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.<em>

_Revelations 11:3-6_

* * *

><p>A symbol of peace.<p>

A symbol of hope.

A symbol of freedom.

It moved for the first time in three centuries, out of orbit.

Originally built for fear, rebuilt for peace, it moved, ever so slightly, towards the planet below it.

A man-made wonder, lord of the skies, ruler of the heavens, enslaver of the earth, Damocles.

All at the command of a Demon and a Witch.

Two Immortals.

Two people who would live forever.

Two people who would witness everything that would ever happen.

Two Witnesses.

They pulled Damocles out of the heavens.

And brought it back to Earth.

* * *

><p>And across the planet, everyone waited with baited breath.<p>

"_They say the rebellion in Japan failed…"_

"_They say the Guren is destroyed…"_

"_They say that Emperor Lelouch is dead…"_

"_They say Damocles is returning…"_

But in Tokyo, three people didn't care.

"There's nothing left for me anymore," muttered Shinto, "My family is dead. The rebellion is over. The Britannians have everything. Why should I bother with this fucking life, if there is nothing to live for?"

He seemed to stare into Heaven.

"Do you think death would be any better?" asked Ling, who had nothing as well, "If life is so cruel, why should death be any different?"

"Because God will look after us," whispered Fiona, who held a cross necklace in her hands.

"Bullshit!" shouted Shinto, "You think we're going to Heaven? You think God is going to raise us up with an angelic choir? Stop with your fantasy and shut up!"

"There's no need to be so angry," Ling said as he stared at the floor.

"Humph."

"You don't have to believe if you don't want to," said Fiona, "But please don't mock others beliefs. We've both lost someone we love. You can pray for him in your own way, but please let me pray for him in mine."

"RARGH!" shouted Shinto and placed his hands over his head, "Shut up! You and your stupid religion! When has God done anything for us? When has he answered any of our prayers? When has-"

"There's no need to be so angry."

"And you," snarled Shinto as he rounded on Ling, "You need to keep your mouth shut. You don't know what me and my brother went through! You don't know what we sacrificed!"

"We've all lost," said Ling, still staring at the floor, "We've all lost so much. So there is no need to bring each other down even lower."

They were all silent, contemplating whatever demons were in their heads.

"It'll be all over soon anyway," said Shinto, "They say the Damocles is going to destroy this city. I don't even care anymore."

"What? What about all the people here?" asked Ling.

"So what? I'll be too dead to care about them. I didn't care much for them anyway. This is the end for me. So, sayonara." He then leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes.

Ling suddenly became angry. "What do you mean 'This is the end for me'? That's bullshit! You just want to die here, not caring about the world? How pathetic!"

With his eyes still closed, Shinto responded. "Yes. I am pathetic. But you can't say anything that will change my mind. This game's far too big for us anyway. We were just small players from the start. We can't change anything about that."

"I've been practising."

The man and the cyborg turned to her.

"What?"

"Flying an aerial ship."

"You mean like the _Ikaruga_?" laughed Shinto, "One person can't fly a ship that big!"

"You're right. But four people could, with proper instruction."

They turned silent again, contemplating something completely different.

"What are you suggesting…?" asked Ling.

"Maybe we don't have to be small players on a big board… maybe we can do something to make our miserable lives worth it."

The door opened and a man walked in. He looked around, seeming a little confused.

"Who are you?" asked Shinto suspiciously.

"Oh, me? Nobody important…"

"Yeah? Well me and you both pal…"

"What's your name?" asked Ling.

"Uh… Liam."

"Liam? That's… an ordinary name."

"Tell me about it. As I said, I'm nobody important. Just the previous commander of all of the rebellion's western forces…"

"Wha-what? You're a General?" asked Shinto, shocked.

"Was. With the rebellion destroyed, rebellion generals don't seem to have as high a ranking then they once did… I'm back to being rebel truck driver no.3, the twenties something guy with a pregnant wife, dreams of elephants, residential euphobia, who likes goats milk, sci-fi novels, scented candles, stained glass, frosted glass, broken glass, wet sand around my feet, lemurs, video games, Pizza Hut, _Harry Potter_, ice-cream, chocolate cake, dogs, independence for the country that I love, oh, and did I mention elephants?"

They all stared at him for a minute. Finally, Ling said:

"So, would you like to be important?"

"Only if I'll be remembered."

"I highly doubt that you will."

"Then what's the point in being important?"

"Because even if there's only one person who would thank you for what you have done, then that's enough."

Liam thought for a second.

"What's the plan?"

* * *

><p>The chamber was massive. It loomed over her like a cathedral. A massive expanse of space hollowing out the mountain. An entire town could have been fitted in here. Rubble and debris were strewn around the area, and more Britannian corpses filled it. Most distressingly, a vulture was tearing apart one of the cadavers. It looked like it had rabies, or another assorted mad animal plague.<p>

Lucia stared at the feathered creature from hell. She tried to drag Raven as silently as possible but the vulture raised its scarred head and stared out of diseased eyes. Froth flowed from its beak and malice streaked from its claws. It stared at her hard. She stared back, not daring to move or breathe.

It laboured into the air and shrieked. Pulling Raven behind her, Lucia struggled through the ruin.

* * *

><p>"<em>Mesosphere<em>_ penetration in five seconds…_"

"We're almost there," muttered C.C.

"Tell me," Lelouch said, "Does dying in a huge explosion hurt much?"

"Yes. A lot. But it's too late to change that. It's twelve minutes till we explode and eight minutes till we crash."

They looked out the window as fire licked at the sides of the ship. They fell from the upper atmosphere like a drop of water through a net. Bits of the huge ship broke off, but the structure remained intact.

It was then that their first opposition came to meet them.

"High-altitude UCAVs," R.R. said, "They're quick."

To prove his point, fifteen missiles shot from the tiny crafts and smashed into Damocles. They spun away in an almost acrobatic formation.

"I think we should lower the armour shields," muttered C.C.

"Agreed."

The window was blocked off by the massive plates of metal that came down to protect the glass and the people behind it. Now they wouldn't see their destruction, only feel it.

"Are you ready for your death?" asked C.C.

"I've been ready for it before."

She smiled. "Welcome to my world."

* * *

><p>"EMPRESS!" cried the messenger.<p>

His way into the throne room was blocked off by the newly appointed guards of her majesty. Apparently, her Royal Guard had been killed off recently.

"Sorry sir, but you need an appointment to see the Empress. Ask Chancellor Oda for an appointment…"

"If I do not tell the Empress that the Damocles is going to wipe out Tokyo in eight minutes, then I won't have time to even set up an appointment."

He was let through with very little argument.

"Empress!" he called.

The Empress sat on top of the throne. It seemed to everyone except Lilia that the throne was too big for her. The room itself was nowhere near as impressive as Emperor Lelouch's grand throne room.

"What is it?" Lilia asked briskly, "Pieces of the empire are breaking off and forming their own governments as we speak-"

"I think, you highness, that your life and the lives of Tokyo are more important than the tracks of land you want to own."

"W-what do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"The Damocles will smash into Tokyo in about seven and a half minutes. I think you should use the teleporters as quickly as possible."

The man to the Empresses right shook with fear. "T-the teleporters have been disabled. The master control for them was on-board Damocles…"

The Empress and the messenger hung their mouths open.

Finally, the Empress took control of herself.

"Are we sending anything up to fight it?" she asked.

"General Asano sent every plane with a gun strapped to it against the Damocles. Thousands of jets fly to greet it."

"We can only hope they succeed. Where is the _Ikaruga_?"

"Uh… still in its hangar I suppose…"

"What? Why?"

"The crew all left for home as soon as the rebellion was declared over."

"Well get some people down there! Get it into the air!"

"I don't think we need to…" mused her right-hand man.

A distant rumbling could be heard. A large ship was taking off.

* * *

><p>The vulture raked her again with fetid talons, its cries of hunger echoing round the ghost town. Lucia kicked and punched at it, but a frenzy had taken the scavenger and it tried to dig its talons into her head to get at the juices inside. She screamed and kicked it hard in the chest, sending the bird sprawling. She looked it dead in the eye and the Geass flowed through her and straight towards the vulture.<p>

It simply screeched and charged her again.

_It's blind! _The thought screamed through her in terror as she pulled at Raven.

The bird leapt at her, relying on its decaying ears to lead it to her screams and raked her again. Her clothes were tattered and torn as she pulled Raven away from it.

Suddenly, the floor gave out beneath her. The rocks gave way and she felt herself falling through rubble and stone. Her skin was bruised and split by the sharp edges all around her.

She felt herself fall down a hole that never seemed to end.

* * *

><p>Thousands of craft flew through the sky. Fighters, bombers, attack craft, UCAVs, they were all there. Anything from the antique F-2 fighters of the Japanese Air Defence Force, to the XMORG-45 supersonic jet fighters of the new air fleet. They flew towards the sky, rising above the clouds like a flock of vast, predatory birds, all converging on a speck in the distant heavens. But as they travelled higher, and the speck travelled lower, it became much larger. They waited 45km above the Earth as Damocles came for them. It was coming at an angle instead of straight down.<p>

"Look at the size of that thing…"

"Cut the chatter Red Six."

"Target descending at an estimated speed of five knots."

"The Blaze Luminous is down, repeat the Blaze Luminous is down."

"How is that?"

"A brave scientist stayed behind to disable many parts of the Damocles defences. We've got to use our current armaments to destroy it before it wipes out Tokyo."

"Remember men; focus on destroying the main body at the bottom of the Damocles. The Core Luminous is housed there and once it is destroyed, the Damocles should explode from the inside. There will be collateral damage, but nothing compared to impact. It will hit Tokyo in approximately seven minutes. Think of your families, friends, lovers and let them guide each missile and bullet.  
>Good luck."<p>

"Sir! Here it comes!"

Damocles thundered towards them.

* * *

><p>"<em>Stratosphere penetration in five seconds…<em>"

Damocles shook and shuddered as it entered the inner atmosphere.

"_Estimated time until impact: 00:06:44._"

"C.C.?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have any idea what awaits beyond death?"

"Hah! We're not going to die now! Why worry about such a thing?"

"I don't worry about it. I wonder about it. Maybe there is some sort of a hell. Maybe there is some sort of heaven."

"_Incoming missiles. Approximately 11,678._"

"…If that's the case, we shall be together in paradise."

The missiles impacted upon Damocles.

* * *

><p>Lucia awoke.<p>

The rubble and dust covered her. She coughed and choked as she pushed the debris away from her. Her hands were bleeding, her feet were bleeding, her chest was bleeding, and her head was bleeding. Her beautiful green hair was torn and ruined, her clothes tattered and wrecked. She could hear the strangled screeching of the vulture in the distance, like a far-away nightmare. Raven lay beside her, terrible to look at, his injuries horrific. She gazed around, dust in her eyes-

And there, before her, atop several steps, was a huge stone door. The mark of Geass streaked across it.

She stared up at the Twilight Gate. Her last salvation.

* * *

><p>Missile after missile blasted against the immense Damocles, tearing apart chunk after chunk of the ships immense structure. But still it continued its inexorable advance toward the Earth.<p>

"_Estim__ated time until impact: 00:05:28__._"

"We're almost there."

Damocles shook and shuddered.

* * *

><p>She crawled, unable to walk, dragging Raven behind her. Her arms were devastated, her legs had failed and her vision swam. Stars appeared in her gaze as she approached the steps. The gate loomed above her as if taunting her. She paused and breathed heavily. She tried to pull Raven some more, but he wouldn't budge. Her arms were weaker than an insect's. She cried, the tears washing the dust off her face. She was unable to move. It was impossible.<p>

_Resurrect._

There was no chance that Raven could be resurrected. It was impossible.

_Resurrect._

It was impossible…

_RESURRECT!_

She cried all the louder and pulled Raven up the stairs.

* * *

><p>The Damocles was ablaze now. Rage raged upon its surface from the penetration of the atmosphere and the huge amount of weapons being unloaded into it.<p>

"ALL UNITS! KEEP FIRING!"

"If you run out of ammo, flee to the west!"

"Screw that! I'm bailing! Let the Damocles eat my jet!"

A BN-700 heavy bombardment craft smashed into the side of the Damocles, the fuel lighting the huge craft up.

"Banzai!"

Any jet that had run out of ammo smashed itself into Damocles.

* * *

><p>"<em>Estimated time until impact: 00:02:59.<em>"

"Something is approaching from beneath us sir!"

"What?" called R.R. over the din outside.

"SOMETHING IS APPROACHING FROM BENEATH US!"

"_Troposphere penetration in five seconds…_"

* * *

><p>Lucia looked up at the Twilight Gate.<p>

_What is it?_

She pulled Raven up against the huge door.

_Please… let this work._

She had no idea what to do. She simply placed her hands against the massive door.

Instantly, her Geass flashed in her eye. Her vision became red. The symbol on the door blazed crimson.

The door swung open.

The land of the dead was revealed to her.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean something is below us?" asked C.C. eyes ablaze.<p>

"_Estimated time until impact: 00:01:34._"

A huge craft shot out of the cloud layer below them.

* * *

><p>"Look!" cried Shinto, "The lower section has been weakened!"<p>

"Then let's head towards that then!" shouted Ling.

"Yes cap'n!" replied Liam, who typed in several commands into his computer.

Fiona stared straight upwards from the deck of the _Ikaruga_. Artificial gravity helped her stay in place.

She began to pray.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee-"

"Could we please have some different last words than a simple prayer?" asked Shinto rudely.

They all remained silent as the Damocles came to meet them.

"_WARNING: COLLISION COURSE DETECTED!_"

"Thanks computer," muttered Shinto, "We really needed to know that…"

"_You're welcome Shinto Mogami,_" replied the computer.

Shinto turned red.

"…At the hour of our death," Fiona said, finishing her prayer, "Amen."

"Amen," said Ling.

They both looked at Shinto.

"Fine then," he muttered, "Amen. And God? Please let in those who do only one good deed in their life. I would really appreciate it."

Fiona looked at Liam last.

"What about you? Will you pray with us?" she asked.

Liam took one, long look at the approaching Damocles.

"Hallelujah sister!" he shouted gleefully and pressed a button on his keyboard.

The _Ikaruga _shot upwards.

* * *

><p>"NO!" roared C.C. as the <em>Ikaruga <em>came to meet the wounded Damocles.

R.R. just gritted his teeth and waited for the fire.

* * *

><p>She looked into the land of the dead.<p>

Soledad. It was the largest and most expanse space she had ever seen. And yet it seemed so lonely. A place of utter loneliness and solitude. She felt like the only living soul on the planet. She looked into the land of the dead, a place of eternal sleep and forgotten memories. A place so dark and so alone that it threatened to squeeze the very life out of her. A place of utter emptiness. And yet it seemed filled to the brim with souls.

She couldn't see them. No-one could. But she knew Raven was here. So she walked out into the wide expanse of death.

"Raven?" she called.

An echo greeted her. It continued through the expanse for many miles and many minutes, entering the dreams of every person in the great solitude. When the echo had travelled through all the dreams of every person who had ever lived, only then did it stop. And no-one ever heard it again. And everyone forgot it instantly or made new dreams around the word. Silence fell around the land of the dead.

She ventured further into the well of souls. The colours began to change. A mist seemed to descend over the expanse. A twilight enveloped her.

"Corax…" she whispered.

The name echoed through the expanse, entering the dreams of everyone who had lived, and moved on. But in one mind, it stood firm.

"_You don't like it?" __Lucia said, incredulous, "A name is who you are! It is your identity and yourself! No-one can take that away from you."_

She stared around the mist. Three small boys played in the gutter. The gutter of a dream.

"_You're so full of shit Crow!"_

"_Oh yeah? I'll prove it! I'll steal Tommy's mags in the night! He'll never see it coming."_

"_Let him do it Hawk," said Raven, "I want to see how big his mouth is when it's sliced off his face."_

_Hawk grimaced. "You're a coward at heart Crow. You'll only kill a man when his back is turned."_

"_No. I'll kill every man I meet, looking him dead in the eye!"_

The three boys disappeared. Lucia walked, as if in a trance, further into the mist. The light of twilight pierced it again. Lucia looked upon the three boys.

"_You see?" asked Crow triumphantly, "Look what I've got!"_

"_I don't fucking believe it…"_

"_You better believe it Hawk. Every one of Tommy's porn mags."_

"_How the hell did you do that?" asked Raven._

"_You know Smart Keeve?"_

"_Yeah, thick-as-a-plank Keeve. So what?"_

"_I told him that Tommy had allowed me to borrow his mags, but I can't go to his room on account of Snarler. So I told him to feed Snarler some rancid meat and then get the mags for me while the poor bitch was shitting. In return, I told him Tommy would give him a reward just as long as he said that Lil' Lizard sent him."_

"_No way…"_

"_Being the dumb schmuck that he was, he actually did it. Now I have the mags, and Lil' Lizard and Tommy are having a turf war."_

"_That's cold Crow…"_

"_So what? Life is cold. We aren't even ten yet so we've got to be ready for what life will bring us in the future. We have to plan and act, not only do one of them."_

"_You talk too much."_

"_You talk too little Hawk. You must have the brain of a walnut."_

"_Inbred."_

"_Takes-it-from-the-rear."_

"_Goatfucker."_

"_Stop it you two," said Raven, "Let's take a look at the loot."_

The mist took them again.

"Where are you?" Lucia whispered.

The twilight mist seemed to whisper back at her. The expanse of solitude seemed to envelop her. A feeling of utter emptiness and loneliness took hold of her and she wished that Raven was by her side. She wished she was anywhere but here. She wished anyone was with her. Raven. Roy. R.R... Her father… Even her mother…

"_I'm afraid I have tricked you child!"_

"_Stop it!"_

Lucia gripped her head in her hands. She just wanted to be with someone. Anyone. Not to feel lonely…

"_My Geass was to make people love me."_

"_Love you…?"_

"_To never be alone… through all eternity."_

She began to cry.

_"I think Lucia's a beautiful name," Raven said looking into her eyes, "Why don't you like it?"_

_It was Lucia's turn to look away. "Because it isn't mine."_

"Why?" she screamed at the heavens, "Why did you give me her name, father?"

"_No-one wants to be alone…"_

Soledad.

"_False tears bring pain to those around you. A false smile brings pain to one-self."_

"CORAX KASADIAN!" she screamed.

And then, from a distant dream, Raven awakened.

* * *

><p>"<em>Estimated time until impact: 00:00:05.<em>"

* * *

><p>The <em>Ikaruga <em>smashed into Damocles.

The ship crashed through the bottom and kept on going. It struck the Core Luminous and exploded outwards, beams of pure, concentrated energy vaporising everything around it. Chain reactions exploded up the colossal ship. The titanic structure erupted in flame. The symbol of peace and bringer of destruction was wiped from existence.

Above Tokyo, the sky was on fire.

* * *

><p>"Lucia…"<p>

A voice in the distance.

"Lucia!"

She opened her eyes.

"Lucia, you're alive!"

Above her, staring down worriedly, was Raven.

"Raven…"

"Lucia. It's me. I'm alive."

She looked up, hardly believing it to be true.

"Raven… what was it like?"

He looked down at her, his eyes far away in remembrance.

"Lonely."

Lucia sat up and hugged him. They embraced each other before the closed Twilight Gate. She wept openly.

"D-don't worry," Raven said, trying not to cry as well, "I'm here. I'll always be here for you."

"I-I-I-I thought I'd lost you," she cried, "I thought I would never see you again."

"I-I thought so too," he whispered.

"How very _touching_," sneered a voice.

They both turned their heads.

"You really expected me not to hunt you down, you little traitor!" he snarled, his tone reeking of menace and his sword hungry for blood.

Raven stared hard at the man who had entered. "Listen Hawk, there's no need-"

"My name is Lycris!" Lycris cried, "Unlike you Raven, I don't hide myself behind a stupid bird moniker! You fucking idiot! You were being offered so much money! You could have even taken the girl with you! All you had to do, was betray the fucking rebels! But no! You had to run away like a coward! That's all you do! Run away like a fucking coward!"

Raven stared hard at him. He stood up, on shaky legs. His seemed to gaze into Lycris' soul.

"Well then… not anymore," he said, "I won't run anymore."

Lycris smiled a shark's grin. "Oh good. I've wanted to spill your blood for a while."

Lucia stood up and looked Lycris in the eye. Her Geass spilled out of her.

Lycris simply laughed. "Stupid woman! The once great Demon Emperor bestowed upon me some really handy bionic implants. So your Geass won't work. You better cover that up before you look at Raven again."

Lucia gave Lycris a glare that would make a lion wilt, before covering her left eye.

Lycris raised his sword. "Let us begin Corax."

"Come get me Hawk."

Lycris charged, menace in his eyes and fury carried in his sword.

* * *

><p>Lycris was faster than any human had any right to be, but Raven had many more years of combat experience and he skilfully dodged every swipe and slice of Lycris's sword. He spun away like a sparrow, and with every slash of his sword Lycris became a tiny bit slower, a tiny bit less responsive. His breathing became ragged and quicker. His steps were sometimes seconds out of place and his shoulders betrayed his fatigue. So Raven struck, trying to land a good jab in Lycris's ribs.<p>

But Lycris had been waiting for exactly that, and side-stepped Raven's pathetic attempt at a punch. He brought the sword up and sliced a strip of blood across Raven's arm. Raven span away, gasping.

"Hah! You're pathetic!" Lycris cried and moved in for the kill, quickly side-stepping again and tripping Raven up with a quick move of his leg. Raven looked up, aghast as Lycris raised his sword for the kill.

"STOP!" screamed Lucia in desperation.

Lycris turned his head to look at the stupid little girl.

"Why?" he asked casually.

"Because… what will you do next?"

"Huh?" Lycris said, confused.

"What will you do next, you idiot?"

Lycris became angry. "I'll kill you for insulting me."

"And then what?"

Lycris peered at her closely.

"What do you mean?"

"What will you do, when there is no-one left to kill?"

"I'll find something to do by myself."

"Pah! All by yourself? You pathetic, lonely little man! You'll always be alone! You'll never understand what love is! That's why you'll never be as happy as me or Raven!"

A grin spread across Lycris's face. "I don't think he'll be very happy when his head is cleaved from his body."

The sword came down.

A gunshot rang out.

Lucia screamed.

And silence fell.

* * *

><p>Lycris peered down at Raven. He had a confused look on his face.<p>

He keeled over and fell on his side. He lay still.

Raven sat up and looked at Lucia. She was staring at someone. Raven turned his gaze to the figure with the gun. He gasped, before a stern look came over his features.

Amadeus looked Raven up and down. "Raven."

"Crow."

"I see I'm still saving your hide."

Raven said nothing in response. Rather, he watched the most dangerous man he had ever known.

Amadeus held a pistol in one hand and a liquid container in the other. It was the first time Lucia had seen him frowning. He walked towards Lycris's corpse.

"Step away Raven," he said sternly.

"Y-You're Crow?" Lucia asked, shocked.

"Of course. Wasn't it obvious?" Amadeus replied as he doused Lycris with petrol.

"Y-You used me?"

"Yep. Sorry about that. Just doing my duty for the crown." He pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on.

"Are you going to kill us?" asked Raven, his eyes darting to and fro from Amadeus and Lycris's sword.

"That depends," Amadeus said as he dropped the lighter on Lycris. His corpse was enveloped in a bonfire.

"On what?"

"What you plan to do."

"We plan to leave here and never return."

"Then go. I have no reason to kill you."

Raven stood up and grabbed Lucia. "We need to go now," he whispered, "That guy is insane."

"Wha-What?"

"I wouldn't trust him with a nickel. We need to go as quick as possible."

"But he saved your life."

"Debts are nothing in these times. We need to go now."

Raven led Lucia away as Amadeus stared over the pyre of Lycris. But as they were leaving, Lucia called back.

"Amadeus?"

He turned his head to look at her.

"Are you the one that led me here?"

"Yes."

"…Thank you."

He turned back to the burning body.

Lucia and Raven headed up the stairs.

"I was wrong," muttered Lucia.

"About what?" asked Raven.

"He's saved your life _twice_."

They continued up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Amadeus looked over the flaming body.<p>

"Goodbye old friend."

He turned to leave.

A rabid vulture landed on a nearby rock. It could hear the crackling of the roasting meat. It could smell the burnt flesh. Froth dripped from its beak in anticipation.

Amadeus whipped out a pistol and shot the bird through the head. Its brain exploded in a red haze.

"There's no such thing as a free meal."


	16. The Letter

**Chapter 25: The Letter**

_Dear Mother and Father_

_I don't really know why I'm sending you this. I don't know if it will ever reach you, wherever you are. But it makes me feel better writing it._

_I have no idea what you've been through. I don't really want to know either. I can only guess at the adventures you two had together and the misery you two endured. But I know what it is like to be alone. And I know that it is the most horrible feeling I have ever felt. So I quite envy the both of you, able to live forever with each other._

_Raven and I are living happily together. There's no-one to disturb us here, and no-one to tell us we have to fight. I've been selfish before… and I guess I'm being selfish here as well, keeping Raven to myself. Not that he complains._

_But the reason I'm probably writing this letter is to ask you a favour. I want to meet you both. Partly, because I want to know more about why you did what you did, mother. And partly, because I want father to remove this blasted Geass. Wearing an eye-patch all day and all night becomes very tiresome. And partly… you're my parents. I want to meet you, because I want you to know I'm not upset any more._

_I'll probably never__ find it in my heart to__ forgive you mother. That being said, I'm not angry at you or sad that you did it. I love Raven more than anyone else alive. So I can sort of understand why you __made such a large plan to have him love you more. But I would never abandon _my_ child._

_That's right. I'm pregnant. I hope you can meet your granddaughter. Huh… you look so young and yet you'll be a grandmother. I don't even know how old you are. This is why we need to meet!_

_In the end, it comes back to loneliness. In the end, it doesn't matter if you love someone or not. Just to be with someone else, to not be alone… that just makes you feel better. I think that's beautiful; you have to be with someone else to be happy._

_Heh, I'm blabbering now… I would just like to meet with you two. Just to talk. It doesn't matter what about. Just to be able to forgive and forget… that's one of the reasons why we live. To be able to forgive others._

_We live in a little house on the north coast of Hokkaido. I'm sure you'll find it. You have all the time in the world to look._

_Please come._

_Sincerely,_

_Lucia Kasadian._


	17. The Demon and the Witch

**Epilogue: The Demon and the Witch**

Pieces of debris littered the beach. A secluded, picture-perfect little beach on the edge of Tokyo. No-one was out here. They were all too busy with the larger pieces of Damocles in the city.

C.C. gasped as she came out of the water. He green hair was wet and stuck together across her back. She half-swam towards the beach, while being mostly carried by the tide. When she reached the soggy sand, she spat out water and crawled up onto the surf. She crawled up the beach.

"F-F-Fucking assholes," she muttered.

How had it all gone wrong? The last thing she remembered was the _Ikaruga _flying towards her.

"S-Stupid b-bastards," she spat, still shaking from her most recent death.

She had been so close… the world would have been hers. Theirs. King and Queen, ruling over the world.  
>What would R.R. think of her now? She had failed…<p>

"This is just great!" she shouted and got to her feet.

Speaking of which, where was he?

She spotted him lying on his back in the sun. She walked over to him.

"What are you doing?" she asked angrily.

"Enjoying the sun," R.R. said nonchalantly.

"'Enjoying the sun!'?" she shouted, "Our plan just failed! The Damocles is destroyed, Lilia lives, her armies are on the rise, we never gave the order for our army to defend our land-"

"Our plan?" asked R.R. with a raised eyebrow.

"Wha-Yeah! Our plan! Remember…?"

"I don't remember ever asking you to help me become Emperor."

"W-W-Well, you were asleep, so I decided-"

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"B-B-Because I wanted to do it myself…"

"So how is it our plan?"

C.C. looked at him.

"Are you blaming me?"

"Entirely."

"Are you saying you didn't want me to help you become Emperor?"

R.R. remained silent.

"Tell me! I need to know if I did the right thing!"

R.R. smiled, and the jig was up.

"Oh… wipe that smirk off your face," said C.C., annoyed.

"Oh get over yourself," laughed R.R. as he got up, "You really would do anything for me, wouldn't you?"

C.C. frowned at him. R.R. laughed even more.

"You're like Kaguya, you know that!" he roared with laughter.

Even C.C. couldn't keep a straight face at that. They were both howling with laughter on a beach littered with debris from their own wrecked ride.

When they had got over their giggling fit, R.R. walked off down the beach.

"Where are you going?" C.C. asked.

"A walk on the beach. Want to join me?"

"B-But what about our empire? Our country?"

R.R. looked at her. "We've got all the time in the world. Why worry about a little Empire?"

She looked at him strangely. "What do you mean?"

"We're immortal. We can go on adventures, we can tour the world, we can take it whenever we want and we can even go visit Lucia!"

C.C. frowned. "I don't think that'll be a good idea…"

"Why?" asked R.R., "Don't you care about her at all?"

"No. It's just that I think she'll refuse me…"

R.R. walked back and put an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry. Anything can happen. We've got from here to eternity. We can do whatever we like. We can take the world. Or we can just watch it go past…"

C.C. broke from his embrace and smiled at him playfully. "You've changed."

"Have I? I wasn't aware of that."

"Whatever happened to power-hungry Lelouch, eh?"

"I think he's just having too much fun to care about power at the minute…"

C.C. laughed. "Sure. Sure…"

"Or maybe he's hatching a plot at this very minute."

C.C. smiled and grabbed his arm. "So, what do we do first?"

R.R. kissed her and looked down the beach. "How about a walk?"

"I'm fine with that."

And so R.R. and C.C.,

Lelouch and Lucia,

The Demon and the Witch,

went for a walk down the beach.

**Fin**


End file.
